The mathematics of the gods and the algorithms of men : a cultural history
Zellini, Paolo2020
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Is mathematics a discovery or an invention? Have we invented numbers or do they truly exist? What sort of reality could we attribute to them? Mathematics has always been a way of understanding and ordering the world: from sacred ancient texts and pre-Socratic philosophers to twentieth-century logicians such as Russell and Frege and beyond. In this masterful, elegant book, mathematician and philosopher Paolo Zellini offers a brief cultural and intellectual history of mathematics, from ancient Greece to India to our contemporary obsession with algorithms, showing how mathematical thinking is inextricably linked with philosophical, existential and religious questions - and indeed with our cosmic understanding of the world.
Main title:
The mathematics of the gods and the algorithms of men : a cultural history / Paolo Zellini ; translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre.
Imprint:
[London, UK] : Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2020.
Collation:
240 pages ; 23 cm.
Notes:
First published in Italy as La matematica degli dèi e gli algoritmi degli uomini by Adelphi Edizioni, 2016.Includes bibliographical references and index.Translated from the Italian.
ISBN:
9780241312179
Dewey class:
510.1
Language:
English
Added title:
BRN:
371028
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Library | Adult Non Fiction - Science and Technology | 510.1 ZEL | Available |