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The Resource Finding zero : a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers, Amir D. Aczel, (electronic resource)

Finding zero : a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers, Amir D. Aczel, (electronic resource)

Creator
Author
Summary
"The invention of numerals is perhaps the greatest abstraction the human mind has ever created. Virtually everything in our lives is digital, numerical, or quantified. The story of how and where we got these numerals, which we so depend on, has for thousands of years been shrouded in mystery. Finding Zero is an adventure filled saga of Amir Aczel's lifelong obsession: to find the original sources of our numerals. Aczel has doggedly crisscrossed the ancient world, scouring dusty, moldy texts, cross examining so-called scholars who offered wildly differing sets of facts, and ultimately penetrating deep into a Cambodian jungle to find a definitive proof. Here, he takes the reader along for the ride. The history begins with the early Babylonian cuneiform numbers, followed by the later Greek and Roman letter numerals. Then Aczel asks the key question: where do the numbers we use today, the so-called Hindu-Arabic numerals, come from? It is this search that leads him to explore uncharted territory, to go on a grand quest into India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and ultimately into the wilds of Cambodia. There he is blown away to find the earliest zero--the keystone of our entire system of numbers--on a crumbling, vine-covered wall of a seventh-century temple adorned with eaten-away erotic sculptures. While on this odyssey, Aczel meets a host of fascinating characters: academics in search of truth, jungle trekkers looking for adventure, surprisingly honest politicians, shameless smugglers, and treacherous archaeological thieves--who finally reveal where our numbers come from. "--
Language
eng
Work
Instance
Label
Finding zero : a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers
Title
Finding zero
Title remainder
a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers
Statement of responsibility
Amir D. Aczel
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"The invention of numerals is perhaps the greatest abstraction the human mind has ever created. Virtually everything in our lives is digital, numerical, or quantified. The story of how and where we got these numerals, which we so depend on, has for thousands of years been shrouded in mystery. Finding Zero is an adventure filled saga of Amir Aczel's lifelong obsession: to find the original sources of our numerals. Aczel has doggedly crisscrossed the ancient world, scouring dusty, moldy texts, cross examining so-called scholars who offered wildly differing sets of facts, and ultimately penetrating deep into a Cambodian jungle to find a definitive proof. Here, he takes the reader along for the ride. The history begins with the early Babylonian cuneiform numbers, followed by the later Greek and Roman letter numerals. Then Aczel asks the key question: where do the numbers we use today, the so-called Hindu-Arabic numerals, come from? It is this search that leads him to explore uncharted territory, to go on a grand quest into India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and ultimately into the wilds of Cambodia. There he is blown away to find the earliest zero--the keystone of our entire system of numbers--on a crumbling, vine-covered wall of a seventh-century temple adorned with eaten-away erotic sculptures. While on this odyssey, Aczel meets a host of fascinating characters: academics in search of truth, jungle trekkers looking for adventure, surprisingly honest politicians, shameless smugglers, and treacherous archaeological thieves--who finally reveal where our numbers come from. "--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
TEFOD
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Aczel, Amir D
Dewey number
513.5
Index
no index present
LC call number
QA141.2
LC item number
.A29 2015eb
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • dictionaries
  • bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Numerals
  • Zero (The number)
  • MATHEMATICS / History & Philosophy
  • SCIENCE / History
Label
Finding zero : a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers, Amir D. Aczel, (electronic resource)
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages )
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource.
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9781466879102
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
7955a3bb-2fbc-45b2-b5d6-1db5b9365368
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)898488870
Label
Finding zero : a mathematician's odyssey to uncover the origins of numbers, Amir D. Aczel, (electronic resource)
Link
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages )
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource.
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9781466879102
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
7955a3bb-2fbc-45b2-b5d6-1db5b9365368
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)898488870

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