An edition of The nothing that is (1999)

The nothing that is

a natural history of zero

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Cover of: The nothing that is by Kaplan, Robert, Kaplan, Robert
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Last edited by MARC Bot
May 19, 2025 | History
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An edition of The nothing that is (1999)

The nothing that is

a natural history of zero

by

  • 1 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading

Without zero, mathematics as we know it would not exist. And without mathematics our understanding of the universe would be vastly impoverished. But where did this nothing, this hollow circle, come from? And what, exactly, does it mean? For Kaplan, the history of zero is a lens for looking not only into the evolution of mathematics but into very nature of human thought. He points out how the history of mathematics is a process of recursive abstraction: how once a symbol is created to represent an idea, that symbol itself gives rise to new operations that in turn lead to new ideas. The beauty of mathematics is that even though we invent it, we seem to be discovering something that already exists. The joy of that discovery shines from Kaplan's pages, as he ranges from Archimedes to Einstein, making fascinating connections between mathematical insights from every age and culture.--From publisher description.

Publish Date
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Language
English
Pages
225

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Previews available in: English

Subjects

Zero (The number), Nul, Zéro (Le nombre), Number theory, Mathematics, history
Edition Availability
Cover of: The nothing that is
The nothing that is: a natural history of zero
2000, Oxford University Press
in English
Cover of: The nothing that is
The nothing that is: a natural history of zero
1999, Allen Lane, BCA
in English

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Book Details

Table of Contents

0. The
lens -- -- 1.
Mind puts its stamp on matter -- -- 2. The
Greeks had no word for it -- -- 3.
Travelers' tales -- -- 4.
Eastward -- -- 5.
Dust -- -- 6.
Into the unknown -- -- 7. A
paradigm shifts -- -- 8. A
Mayan interlude : the dark side of counting -- -- 9.
Much ado -- -- 10.
Entertaining angels -- -- 11.
Almost nothing -- -- 12.
Is it out there? -- -- 13.
Bath-house with spiders -- -- 14. A
land where it was always afternoon -- -- 15.
Was Lear right? -- -- 16. The
unthinkable.

Edition Notes

Originally published: London : Allen Lane/Penguin Press, 1999.

Includes index.

Notes and bibliography available on the World Wide Web.

Published in
Oxford, New York

Classifications

Library of Congress
QA141 .K36 2000, QA141.K36 2000, QA 141 K36 2000, QA141 .K36 1999

The Physical Object

Pagination
xii, 225 p. :
Number of pages
225

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL15514039M
ISBN 10
0195128427
LCCN
99029000
OCLC/WorldCat
41165440
LibraryThing
147631
Goodreads
1465114

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL5745490W

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Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
May 19, 2025 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
August 15, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
February 14, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot remove fake subjects
July 5, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page