Call number
Publication
Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 2012.
Pages
x; 298
Description
The ancient Greeks discovered them, but it wasn't until the nineteenth century that irrational numbers were properly understood and rigorously defined, and even today not all their mysteries have been revealed. In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil tells the story of irrational numbers and the mathematicians who have tackled their challenges, from antiquity to the twenty-first century. Along the way, he explains why irrational numbers are surprisingly difficult to define-and why so many questions still surround them. Fascinating and illuminating, this is a book for everyone who loves math and the history behind it.
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
x, 298 p.; 9.4 inches
ISBN
9780691143422
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User reviews
LibraryThing member fpagan
Ostensibly a popularization, but similar to Havil's earlier books _Gamma_ and _Nonplussed!_ in that any reader who wants to follow any substantial fraction of it in detail had better be conversant with a lot of college-level math. For me, the going first got especially rough in the chapter (#6) on
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rational approximations of irrationals (which is important later in identifying those irrationals, such as e and pi (and "almost all" others!), that are transcendental). There Havil himself admits, "We are wallowing in deep mathematical water, where statements are barely believable and proofs barely understandable." (p 176) Still, the book can give interested amateurs an impression of how the pros delve into the complexities of the real-number continuum. Show Less