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The language of mathematics : the stories behind the symbols / Raúl Rojas ; translated by Eduardo Aparicio.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Rojas, Raúl, 1955- author.
- Standardized Title:
- Lenguaje de als matematicas. English
- Language:
- English
- Spanish
- Subjects (All):
- Mathematical notation.
- Mathematical notation--History.
- Mathematics--History.
- Mathematics.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (281 pages)
- Edition:
- First English edition.
- Place of Publication:
- Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2025]
- Summary:
- A marvelous compendium of mathematical symbols and their fascinating historiesGalileo famously wrote that the book of nature is written in mathematical language. The Language of Mathematics is a wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated collection of short, colorful histories of the most commonly used symbols in mathematics, providing readers with an engaging introduction to the origins, evolution, and conceptual meaning of each one.In dozens of lively and informative entries, Raúl Rojas shows how today’s mathematics stands on the shoulders of giants, mathematicians from around the world who developed mathematical notation through centuries of collective effort. He tells the stories of such figures as al-Khwārizmī, René Descartes, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Karl Weierstrass, Sofia Kovalevskaya, David Hilbert, and Kenneth Iverson. Topics range from numbers and variables to sets and functions, constants, and combinatorics. Rojas describes the mathematical problems associated with different symbols and reveals how mathematical notation has sometimes been an accidental process. The entries are self-contained and can be read in any order, each one examining one or two symbols, their history, and the variants they may have had over time.An essential companion for math enthusiasts, The Language of Mathematics shows how mathematics is a living and evolving entity, forever searching for the best symbolism to express relationships between abstract concepts and to convey meaning.
- Contents:
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Symbols and Expressions
- Introduction
- I. The Long History of Mathematical Symbols
- The Birth of Algebra
- How Do We Use Mathematical Symbols?
- The Most Beautiful Mathematical Formulas
- Why Do We Extract Roots?
- II. Numbers and Variables
- Hindu-Arabic Numerals and Mercantilism
- The Greek Alphabet and Its Predecessors
- Zero
- Symmetry of Symbols
- The Variable x
- Absolute Value and the Father of Analysis
- Powers as Superscripts
- Subscripts
- The Decimal Point
- III. Arithmetic Operators
- The Greek Cross of Addition
- Subtraction and Negative Numbers
- According to Adam Ries
- The Cross of Multiplication
- The Division Bar
- Homer, the Obelus, and Division
- IV. Relational and Grouping Operators
- No Two Things Can Be More Equal
- Inequality Symbols
- The Parenthesis versus the Vinculum
- The Comma and the Period
- V. Calculus/Analysis
- Star Wars: Leibniz versus Newton
- The Partial Derivative
- Nabla, the Harp of Assyria
- John Wallis and Infinity
- Delta
- The Notation f(x) and the Concept of a Function
- Epsilons, Deltas, and the Invention of Real Numbers
- Reaching the Limit
- The Mathematical Dart
- VI. Sets and Functions
- The Existential Quantifier
- The Universal Quantifier
- ∈ Is for Belonging
- The Set of Rational Numbers
- Mathematics and Nothingness
- Union and Intersection
- The Aleph and the Paradise of Infinities
- VII. Constants
- The Power of Imagination
- Pi: The Archimedean Constant and the Ludolphian Number
- Euler’s Number and Exponential Growth
- Planck’s Constant: The Quantum of Action
- The Speed of Light c
- VIII. Combinatorics
- The Factorial
- Sigma: Notation to Sink Your Teeth Into
- A Floor and a Ceiling for Numbers
- The Binomial Symbol
- IX. Various Topics
- The Invisible Symbol: Einstein’s Convention
- The Halmos Box
- Sine of Theta and Trigonometry
- The Symbol of Congruence and Arithmetic in Miniature
- Matrices: The Mother Structure
- Publish or Perish: The First Scientific Journals
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
- Notes:
- First published in Spanish in 2018.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- ISBN:
- 0-691-26368-X
- OCLC:
- 1452446811
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