The Rise of Numbers
- date of publication: 19.04.2021
- 384 Pages
- Hanser Verlag
- hardcover
- ISBN 978-3-446-26932-3
- Deutschland: 25,00 €
- Österreich: 25,70 €
- ePUB-Format
- E-Book ISBN 978-3-446-27009-1
- E-Book Deutschland: 18,99 €
The birth of modern mathematics
In the 15th and 16th centuries, mathematics was revived in Europe. Arabic numerals, including the hitherto unknown zero, conquered commercial life and were combined to produce formulas for the first time. The invention of the central perspective and the rediscovery of Greek geometry fundamentally changed art and science. Pictures were now windows onto the world, as was the new form of mathematics. Regiomontanus and Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg played roles in this unprecedented change that were equally as important as Leonardo da Vinci and Girolamo Cardano in Milan.
Quick-witted and with a keen eye for hidden elements, The Power of Numbers leads us to the moment when plus, minus and multiplication signs were invented. Thomas de Padova recounts an exciting chapter in the history of mathematics and reveals a new perspective on the vibrant historical epoch of the Renaissance.
“This insight into the century of mathematics is knowledgeable and vivid, narrative in tone and scholarly.”
- Ulrich Rüdenauer, MDR Kultur am Morgen
“A great, enjoyable book [...] You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to read this rewarding compendium with pleasure and profit.”
- Sabine Dultz, Münchner Merkur
"Thomas de Padova paints a vivid panorama of this period, which despite its importance for modern mathematics is still little known even among students of mathematics. This science historian has succeeded in changing this in a wonderful way with his multifaceted history lesson.”
- Gerrit Stratmann, Deutschlandfunk Kultur
"Exciting as well as amusing [...] informative as well as entertaining".
- Neues Deutschland