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Quite right : the story of mathematics, measurement, and money /
This book explains how mathematical ideas evolved in response to the growing levels of organization in human societies, from prehistoric times to the present day.
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
|---|---|
| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Oxford :
Oxford University Press,
2016.
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| Edición: | First edition. |
| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Cover ; Preface; Contents; 1. The Unwritten Story; The story of mathematics; Fairness in the age of the hunter-gatherers; Counting without numbers; The origins of money; Mysterious moonshine; 2. The Dawn of Civilization; Writing and counting; Operating with numbers; Fair division in the age of arithmetic; Measuring length and area; Measuring quantities; The origins of units of measurement; The elements of finance; 3. From Tax and Trade to Theorems; The coming of coins; Practical mathematics; The new mathematics; Problems of measurement; Proving results about whole numbers.
- 4. The Age of AlgorithmsHow to do arithmetic; Advances in arithmetic; The uses of arithmetic; The north-west frontier; The art of al-jabr; The origins of symbolic algebra; 5. The End of the Middle Ages; Merchants and mathematicians; Interest upon interest, and more . . .; Solving equations; Counting and arranging; How to keep a secret: the medieval way; 6. A New World of Mathematics; Measurement and calculation; To the limit; Algebra and geometry combine; Back to the future: Archimedes; Fermat and the new algebra; One small step . . .; More about series; 7. Mathematics Ascending.
- Calculus, coinage, and controversyLogarithms and exponents; Numbers, perfect and prime; New kinds of numbers; All kinds of wonderful things; To the limit, carefully; 8. Taking a Chance; Great expectations; Games and strategies; The law of large numbers; Statistics; 9. Modelling and Measuring; Mathematics in context; Measuring value and utility; The problems of democracy; The measure of the world; 10. Mathematics and Money in the Age of Information; Financial speculation; A model of how prices change; Forms of money; Money, information, and uncertainty; Measuring information.
- 11. Can Mathematics Keep Us Safe?The search for security; Some things are easy, but some are not; How to keep a secret: the modern way; Can mathematics keep us safe?; Notes; Index.