Number Kingdom -- The Universal Language of the World: The Universal Language of the World

Author: DENISGUEDJ
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Explore the origins and wonders of numbers, fostering curiosity about science. In the past, bones, stones, shells, abacuses, knots, fingers, and other tools and methods were used by humans for counting and calculation; today, computers and calculators have extended the calculation of numbers to infinite possibilities. The concept of numbers seems obvious and natural today, but it is the result of long-standing contemplation. In the 5th century, Indian mathematicians invented the positional number system, using only a handful of digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 49, to represent all numbers in the world. Numbers then became active on the stage of science. The realm of numbers—integers, complex numbers, real numbers, imaginary numbers, prime numbers, irrational numbers, transcendental numbers—has expanded with the progress of computation and theory. Let us follow author Denis Guedj as he traces the exploration of humanity's most beautiful invention: numbers, their legendary and astonishing origins and development.