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Books > Science & Mathematics > Mathematics > History of mathematics
Band VI der Hausdorff Edition enthält veröffentlichte Aufsätze sowie bislang unveröffentlichte Schriften und Notizen von Felix Hausdorff zur Erkenntniskritik von Zeit und Raum sowie zur nichteuklidischen Geometrie. Er dokumentiert Hausdorffs lebenslanges Interesse an diesen Themen und erlaubt einen neuen Einblick in die Herausbildung einer modernen Epistemologie der Mathematik und der Naturwissenschaften. Er zeigt auch, wie Hausdorffs mathematische, philosophische und literarische Tätigkeiten in seiner intellektuellen Laufbahn interagierten. Die historische Einführung des Herausgebers bietet umfassende Informationen über Hausdorffs philosophischen Horizont. Alle Leserinnen und Leser, die an der Entstehung der modernen Mathematik und ihrer philosophischen Reflexion interessiert sind, werden diesen Band der Gesammelten Werke Hausdorffs mit Gewinn lesen. Volume VI of the Hausdorff Edition contains published articles and previously unpublished material by Felix Hausdorff relating to the epistemology of time and space, as well as on noneuclidean geometry. It documents Hausdorff’s lifelong interest in these issues and provides new insight into the formation of a modern epistemology of mathematics and of science. The volume also documents how Hausdorff’s mathematical, philosophical and literary work interacted throughout his career. The editor’s historical introduction provides a wealth of information about Hausdorff’s philosophical background. Everyone interested in the emergence of modern mathematics and its philosophical contexts will profit from reading this volume of Hausdorff’s Collected Works.
Philosophen und Theologen haben uber das Unendliche nachgedacht. Doch die wahre Wissenschaft vom Unendlichen ist die Mathematik. Rudolf Taschner gelingt es, diesen zentralen Begriff auch dem mathematischen Laien zu vermitteln. Auf anschauliche Weise beschreibt er, wie bereits Pythagoras, Archimedes und Euklid versucht haben, das Unendliche zu fassen. Er macht uns mit Newton und Leibniz bekannt, die entdeckten, dass das Phanomen von Bewegung und Wandel nur durch die Erforschung des Unendlichen verstandlich wird. Mit Spannung kann der Leser den dramatischen Streit zwischen den unterschiedlichen Positionen von Cantor, Hilbert und Brouwer verfolgen - ein Streit, der nach den Erkenntnissen Goedels unentschiedener ist denn je.
Presents Book One of Euclid's Elements for students in humanities and for general readers. This treatment raises deep questions about the nature of human reason and its relation to the world. Dana Densmore's Questions for Discussion are intended as examples, to urge readers to think more carefully about what they are watching unfold, and to help them find their own questions in a genuine and exhilarating inquiry.
From the Ishango Bone of central Africa and the Inca "quipu" of South America to the dawn of modern mathematics, "The Crest of the Peacock" makes it clear that human beings everywhere have been capable of advanced and innovative mathematical thinking. George Gheverghese Joseph takes us on a breathtaking multicultural tour of the roots and shoots of non-European mathematics. He shows us the deep influence that the Egyptians and Babylonians had on the Greeks, the Arabs' major creative contributions, and the astounding range of successes of the great civilizations of India and China. The third edition emphasizes the dialogue between civilizations, and further explores how mathematical ideas were transmitted from East to West. The book's scope is now even wider, incorporating recent findings on the history of mathematics in China, India, and early Islamic civilizations as well as Egypt and Mesopotamia. With more detailed coverage of proto-mathematics and the origins of trigonometry and infinity in the East, "The Crest of the Peacock" further illuminates the global history of mathematics.
This graphic novel is both a historical novel as well as an entertaining way of using mathematics to solve a crime. The plot, the possible motive of every suspect, and the elements of his or her character are based on actual historical figures. The 2nd International Congress of Mathematicians is being held in Paris in 1900. The main speaker, the renowned Professor X, is found dead in the hotel dining room. Foul play is suspected. The greatest mathematicians of all time (who are attending the Congress) are called in for questioning. Their statements to the police, however, take the form of mathematical problems. The Chief Inspector enlists the aid of a young mathematician to help solve the crime. Do numbers always tell the truth? Or don't they?
Numerical analysts and computer operators in all fields will welcome this publication in book form of Cecil Hastings' well-known approximations for digital computers, formerly issued in loose sheets and available only to a limited number of specialists. In a new method that combines judgment and intuition with mathematics, Mr. Hasting has evolved a set of approximations which far surpasses in simplicity earlier approximations developed by conventional methods. Part I of this book introduces the collection of useful and illustrative approximations, each of which is presented with a carefully drawn error curve in Part II. Originally published in 1955. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
What gives statistics its unity as a science? Stephen Stigler sets forth the seven foundational ideas of statistics-a scientific discipline related to but distinct from mathematics and computer science. Even the most basic idea-aggregation, exemplified by averaging-is counterintuitive. It allows one to gain information by discarding information, namely, the individuality of the observations. Stigler's second pillar, information measurement, challenges the importance of "big data" by noting that observations are not all equally important: the amount of information in a data set is often proportional to only the square root of the number of observations, not the absolute number. The third idea is likelihood, the calibration of inferences with the use of probability. Intercomparison is the principle that statistical comparisons do not need to be made with respect to an external standard. The fifth pillar is regression, both a paradox (tall parents on average produce shorter children; tall children on average have shorter parents) and the basis of inference, including Bayesian inference and causal reasoning. The sixth concept captures the importance of experimental design-for example, by recognizing the gains to be had from a combinatorial approach with rigorous randomization. The seventh idea is the residual: the notion that a complicated phenomenon can be simplified by subtracting the effect of known causes, leaving a residual phenomenon that can be explained more easily. The Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom presents an original, unified account of statistical science that will fascinate the interested layperson and engage the professional statistician.
How did we make reliable predictions before Pascal and Fermat's discovery of the mathematics of probability in 1654? What methods in law, science, commerce, philosophy, and logic helped us to get at the truth in cases where certainty was not attainable? In The Science of Conjecture, James Franklin examines how judges, witch inquisitors, and juries evaluated evidence; how scientists weighed reasons for and against scientific theories; and how merchants counted shipwrecks to determine insurance rates. The Science of Conjecture provides a history of rational methods of dealing with uncertainty and explores the coming to consciousness of the human understanding of risk.
The logician Kurt Goedel (1906-1978) published a paper in 1931 formulating what have come to be known as his 'incompleteness theorems', which prove, among other things, that within any formal system with resources sufficient to code arithmetic, questions exist which are neither provable nor disprovable on the basis of the axioms which define the system. These are among the most celebrated results in logic today. In this volume, leading philosophers and mathematicians assess important aspects of Goedel's work on the foundations and philosophy of mathematics. Their essays explore almost every aspect of Godel's intellectual legacy including his concepts of intuition and analyticity, the Completeness Theorem, the set-theoretic multiverse, and the state of mathematical logic today. This groundbreaking volume will be invaluable to students, historians, logicians and philosophers of mathematics who wish to understand the current thinking on these issues.
John Napier (1550-1617) is celebrated today as the man who invented logarithms--an enormous intellectual achievement that would soon lead to the development of their mechanical equivalent in the slide rule: the two would serve humanity as the principal means of calculation until the mid-1970s. Yet, despite Napier's pioneering efforts, his life and work have not attracted detailed modern scrutiny. "John Napier" is the first contemporary biography to take an in-depth look at the multiple facets of Napier's story: his privileged position as the seventh Laird of Merchiston and the son of influential Scottish landowners; his reputation as a magician who dabbled in alchemy; his interest in agriculture; his involvement with a notorious outlaw; his staunch anti-Catholic beliefs; his interactions with such peers as Henry Briggs, Johannes Kepler, and Tycho Brahe; and, most notably, his estimable mathematical legacy. Julian Havil explores Napier's original development of logarithms, the motivations for his approach, and the reasons behind certain adjustments to them. Napier's inventive mathematical ideas also include formulas for solving spherical triangles, "Napier's Bones" (a more basic but extremely popular alternative device for calculation), and the use of decimal notation for fractions and binary arithmetic. Havil also considers Napier's study of the Book of Revelation, which led to his prediction of the Apocalypse in his first book, "A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John"--the work for which Napier believed he would be most remembered. "John Napier" assesses one man's life and the lasting influence of his advancements on the mathematical sciences and beyond.
How music has influenced mathematics, physics, and astronomy from ancient Greece to the twentieth century Music is filled with mathematical elements, the works of Bach are often said to possess a math-like logic, and Igor Stravinsky said "musical form is close to mathematics," while Arnold Schoenberg, Iannis Xenakis, and Karlheinz Stockhausen went further, writing music explicitly based on mathematical principles. Yet Eli Maor argues that music has influenced math at least as much as math has influenced music. Starting with Pythagoras, proceeding through the work of Schoenberg, and ending with contemporary string theory, Music by the Numbers tells a fascinating story of composers, scientists, inventors, and eccentrics who played a role in the age-old relationship between music, mathematics, and the sciences, especially physics and astronomy. Music by the Numbers explores key moments in this history, particularly how problems originating in music have inspired mathematicians for centuries. Perhaps the most famous of these problems is the vibrating string, which pitted some of the greatest mathematicians of the eighteenth century against each other in a debate that lasted more than fifty years and that eventually led to the development of post-calculus mathematics. Other highlights in the book include a comparison between meter in music and metric in geometry, complete with examples of rhythmic patterns from Bach to Stravinsky, and an exploration of a suggestive twentieth-century development: the nearly simultaneous emergence of Einstein's theory of relativity and Schoenberg's twelve-tone system. Weaving these compelling historical episodes with Maor's personal reflections as a mathematician and lover of classical music, Music by the Numbers will delight anyone who loves mathematics and music.
The volume contains a comprehensive and problem-oriented presentation of ancient Greek mathematics from Thales to Proklos Diadochos. Exemplarily, a cross-section of Greek mathematics is offered, whereby also such works of scientists are appreciated in detail, of which no German translation is available. Numerous illustrations and the inclusion of the cultural, political and literary environment provide a great spectrum of the history of mathematical science and a real treasure trove for those seeking biographical and contemporary background knowledge or suggestions for lessons or lectures. The presentation is up-to-date and realizes tendencies of recent historiography. In the new edition, the central chapters on Plato, Aristotle and Alexandria have been updated. The explanations of Greek calculus, mathematical geography and mathematics of the early Middle Ages have been expanded and show new points of view. A completely new addition is a unique illustrated account of Roman mathematics. Also newly included are several color illustrations that successfully illustrate the book's subject matter. With more than 280 images, this volume represents a richly illustrated history book on ancient mathematics.
Plato's Ghost is the first book to examine the development of mathematics from 1880 to 1920 as a modernist transformation similar to those in art, literature, and music. Jeremy Gray traces the growth of mathematical modernism from its roots in problem solving and theory to its interactions with physics, philosophy, theology, psychology, and ideas about real and artificial languages. He shows how mathematics was popularized, and explains how mathematical modernism not only gave expression to the work of mathematicians and the professional image they sought to create for themselves, but how modernism also introduced deeper and ultimately unanswerable questions. Plato's Ghost evokes Yeats's lament that any claim to worldly perfection inevitably is proven wrong by the philosopher's ghost; Gray demonstrates how modernist mathematicians believed they had advanced further than anyone before them, only to make more profound mistakes. He tells for the first time the story of these ambitious and brilliant mathematicians, including Richard Dedekind, Henri Lebesgue, Henri Poincare, and many others. He describes the lively debates surrounding novel objects, definitions, and proofs in mathematics arising from the use of naive set theory and the revived axiomatic method-debates that spilled over into contemporary arguments in philosophy and the sciences and drove an upsurge of popular writing on mathematics. And he looks at mathematics after World War I, including the foundational crisis and mathematical Platonism. Plato's Ghost is essential reading for mathematicians and historians, and will appeal to anyone interested in the development of modern mathematics.
""The fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine."-""TIME" In this award-winning selection of writings by Information Age pioneer Alan Turing, readers will find many of the most significant contributions from the four-volume set of the "Collected Works of A. M. Turing." These contributions, together with commentaries from current experts in a wide spectrum of fields and backgrounds, provide insight on the significance and contemporary impact of A.M. Turing's work. Offering a more modern perspective than anything currently
available, "Alan Turing: His Work and Impact" gives wide coverage
of the many ways in which Turing's scientific endeavors have
impacted current research and understanding of the world. His
pivotal writings on subjects including computing, artificial
intelligence, cryptography, morphogenesis, and more display
continued relevance and insight into today's scientific and
technological landscape. This collection provides a great service
to researchers, but is also an approachable entry point for readers
with limited training in the science, but an urge to learn more
about the details of Turing's work.
Felix Hausdorff ist eine singulare Erscheinung in der Geschichte der Wissenschaft. Als Mathematiker hat er die Entwicklung der modernen Mathematik des 20. Jahrhunderts wesentlich mitgepragt. Er begrundete die allgemeine Topologie als eigenstandige mathematische Disziplin und bereicherte die Mengenlehre um eine Reihe grundlegender Konzepte und Resultate. Auf den von Hausdorff geschaffenen und spater nach ihm benannten Mass- und Dimensionsbegriff gehen tiefgreifende Folgeentwicklungen in zahlreichen mathematischen Disziplinen zuruck, die bis in die Physik hinein wirken. Diese Hausdorffschen Schoepfungen liegen auch der sogenannten Fraktaltheorie mit ihren faszinierenden Computergraphiken zugrunde. Die Vielseitigkeit von Hausdorffs Wirken zeigt auch die Tatsache, dass in der Mathematik nicht weniger als 13 Begriffe, Theoreme und Verfahren nach ihm benannt sind. Aber Hausdorff war nicht nur Mathematiker. Er war auch ein origineller philosophischer Denker, Literat und Essayist. Unter Pseudonym erschienen ein Aphorismenband, ein erkenntniskritisches Buch, ein Gedichtband, ein erfolgreiches Theaterstuck und eine Reihe bemerkenswerter Essays in fuhrenden literarischen Zeitschriften. Als Jude wurde er unter der nationalsozialistischen Diktatur zunehmend verfolgt und gedemutigt. Als die Deportation in ein Konzentrationslager unmittelbar bevorstand, nahm er sich gemeinsam mit seiner Frau und seiner Schwagerin das Leben.
Unterstutzt von vielen historischen Dokumenten und Interviews mit Zeitzeugen geht dieses Werk auf ein bedeutsames Thema der Wissenschaftsgeschichte ein: die Entstehung der modernen Finanzmathematik in der zweiten Halfte des letzten Jahrhunderts.Einfuhrend geht der bekannte Finanzmathematiker Hans Foellmer auf die Entstehungsgeschichte dieser neuen akademischen Disziplin ein und berichtet, wie die neoklassische Wirtschaftstheorie in den 1960er Jahren immer weitere Verbreitung findet und mit ihrer Formalisierung junge Mathematiker anzieht. Dieser zunehmende wissenschaftliche Austausch zwischen OEkonomen und Mathematikern, wegweisend hier eine Gruppe um Werner Hildenbrand an der Universitat Bonn, der auch Hans Foellmer angehoert, fuhrt zu einer Mathematisierung und damit grundlegenden AEnderung der Finanzwissenschaft. Vor allem die Theoriebildung erhalt einen enormen Aufschwung, stark unterstutzt durch neugegrundete Fachzeitschriften, was zu einer Festigung der Finanzmathematik als eigenstandige akademische Disziplin fuhrt. Das Buch stellt die Entwicklung dieser modernen Wissenschaft anschaulich, verstandlich und anhand vieler Zeitzeugenberichte dar, geht am Ende aber auch auf Grundlagenfragen ein: Schon seit den 1990er Jahren, und dann vor allem nach der Finanzkrise 2008, stellen Wissenschaftler die Frage, ob sich gesellschaftliche Prozesse oder das Verhalten von Akteuren an Finanzmarkten uberhaupt korrekt mit Methoden der Naturwissenschaften modellieren lassen.
Eine Darstellung ausgewahlter und zugleich grundlegender Aspekte der Mathematik in historischer und aktueller Sicht mit Blick auf ihre Bildungsbedeutsamkeit fur den Mathematikunterricht und fur das Lehramtsstudium, aber auch fur diejenigen, die etwas daruber vertiefend erfahren moechten, ohne berufsmassig damit zu tun zu haben.
This book contains all the letters that are known to survive from the correspondence of Charles Hutton (1737-1823). Hutton was one of the most prominent British mathematicians of his generation; he played roles at the Royal Society, the Royal Military Academy, the Board of Longitude, the 'philomath' network and elsewhere. He worked on the explosive force of gunpowder and the mean density of the earth, wining the Royal Society's Copley medal in 1778; he was also at the focus of a celebrated row at the Royal Society in 1784 over the place of mathematics there. He is of particular historical interest because of the variety of roles he played in British mathematics, the dexterity with which he navigated, exploited and shaped personal and professional networks in mathematics and science, and the length and visibility of his career. Hutton corresponded nationally and internationally, and his correspondence illustrates the overlapping, the intersection and interaction of the different networks in which Hutton moved. It therefore provides new information about how Georgian mathematics was structured socially, and how mathematical careers worked in that period. It provides a rare and valuable view of a mathematical culture that would substantially cease to exist when British mathematics embraced continental methods from the early ninetheenth century onwards. Over 130 letters survive, from 1770 to 1822, but they are widely scattered (in nearly thirty different archives) and have not been catalogued or edited before. This edition situates the correspondence with an introduction and explanatory notes. |
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