The Story of Our Numbers PDF Download

Author: Zelda King
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 9780823988709
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
Explains the history of written numbers, from ancient Roman numerals to the invention of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and the spread of the Arabic numeral system around the world.

Author: Laurence Sigler
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461300797
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description
First published in 1202, Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci was one of the most important books on mathematics in the Middle Ages, introducing Arabic numerals and methods throughout Europe. This is the first translation into a modern European language, of interest not only to historians of science but also to all mathematicians and mathematics teachers interested in the origins of their methods.

Author: Keith Devlin
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408824574
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
In 1202, a 32-year old Italian finished one of the most influential books of all time, which introduced modern arithmetic to Western Europe. Devised in India in the seventh and eighth centuries and brought to North Africa by Muslim traders, the Hindu-Arabic system helped transform the West into the dominant force in science, technology, and commerce, leaving behind Muslim cultures which had long known it but had failed to see its potential. The young Italian, Leonardo of Pisa (better known today as Fibonacci), had learned the Hindu number system when he traveled to North Africa with his father, a customs agent. The book he created was Liber abbaci, the 'Book of Calculation', and the revolution that followed its publication was enormous. Arithmetic made it possible for ordinary people to buy and sell goods, convert currencies, and keep accurate records of possessions more readily than ever before. Liber abbaci's publication led directly to large-scale international commerce and the scientific revolution of the Renaissance. Yet despite the ubiquity of his discoveries, Leonardo of Pisa remains an enigma. His name is best known today in association with an exercise in Liber abbaci whose solution gives rise to a sequence of numbers - the Fibonacci sequence - used by some to predict the rise and fall of financial markets, and evident in myriad biological structures. In The Man of Numbers, Keith Devlin recreates the life and enduring legacy of an overlooked genius, and in the process makes clear how central numbers and mathematics are to our daily lives.

Author: Smith David Eugene
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780243848379
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Florian Cajori
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486161161
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 865

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Book Description
This classic study notes the origin of a mathematical symbol, the competition it encountered, its spread among writers in different countries, its rise to popularity, and its eventual decline or ultimate survival. 1929 edition.

Author: Judy Leimbach
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000943690
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Discovering the way people in ancient cultures conducted their lives is fascinating for young people, and learning how these people counted and calculated is a part of understanding these cultures. This book offers a concise, but thorough, introduction to ancient number systems. Students won't just learn to count like the ancient Greeks; they'll learn about the number systems of the Mayans, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Romans, as well as learning Hindu-Arabic cultures and quinary and binary systems. Symbols and rules regarding the use of the symbols in each number system are introduced and demonstrated with examples. Activity pages provide problems for the students to apply their understanding of each system. Can You Count in Greek? is a great resource for math, as well as a supplement for social studies units on ancient civilizations. This valuable resource builds understanding of place value, number theory, and reasoning. It includes everything you need to easily incorporate these units in math or social studies classes. Whether you use all of the units or a select few, your students will gain a better understanding and appreciation of our number system. Grades 5-8

Author: Amir D. Aczel
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1466879106
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
“A captivating story, not just an intellectual quest but a personal one . . . gripping [and] filled with the passion and wonder of numbers.” —The New York Times Virtually everything in our lives is digital, numerical, or quantified. But 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 the saga of Amir Aczel’s lifelong obsession: to find the original sources of our numerals, perhaps the greatest abstraction the human mind has ever created. 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 Babylonian cuneiform numbers, followed by Greek and Roman letter numerals. Then Aczel asks: 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 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. “A historical adventure that doubles as a surprisingly engaging math lesson . . . rip-roaring exploits and escapades.” —Publishers Weekly

Author: Stephen Chrisomalis
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026236087X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Insights from the history of numerical notation suggest that how humans write numbers is an active choice involving cognitive and social factors. Over the past 5,000 years, more than 100 methods of numerical notation--distinct ways of writing numbers--have been developed and used by specific communities. Most of these are barely known today; where they are known, they are often derided as cognitively cumbersome and outdated. In Reckonings, Stephen Chrisomalis considers how humans past and present use numerals, reinterpreting historical and archaeological representations of numerical notation and exploring the implications of why we write numbers with figures rather than words.

Author: John Bodel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108840612
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book zeroes in on hidden writing and alternative systems of graphic notation, exploring writings that deflect attention from language.

Author: L. E. Sigler
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080886507
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
The Book of Squares by Fibonacci is a gem in the mathematical literature and one of the most important mathematical treatises written in the Middle Ages. It is a collection of theorems on indeterminate analysis and equations of second degree which yield, among other results, a solution to a problem proposed by Master John of Palermo to Leonardo at the Court of Frederick II. The book was dedicated and presented to the Emperor at Pisa in 1225. Dating back to the 13th century the book exhibits the early and continued fascination of men with our number system and the relationship among numbers with special properties such as prime numbers, squares, and odd numbers. The faithful translation into modern English and the commentary by the translator make this book accessible to professional mathematicians and amateurs who have always been intrigued by the lure of our number system.