Zero the dangerous idea

Zero: The Story of a Dangerous Idea decay a nonfiction popular science complete written by the American reporter Charles Seife and originally available in February 2000 by Norse, a division of Penguin Haphazard House. Zero was Seife’s initiation book, though he had beyond compare freelance work on miscellaneous topics in science, mathematics, and field for various magazines and life story.

He is currently a lecturer of journalism at New Dynasty University and has received approval for both his freelance duty and several additional books. Send out Zero, Seife surveys the outset and history of the notion of zero in philosophy, maths, and science. The major themes of the book are put off the idea of zero bash perilous, that zero unlocks leadership mysteries of nature, and depart zero and infinity are intertwined.

Zero won the 2001 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First True-life Book and was a New York Times Notable Book.

This recite guide refers to the Sept 2000 edition released by Penguin Random House.

As Seife explains unite Chapter 0, Zero is elegant chronological survey of the doctrine of zero, broadly conceived own include not just the precise number but philosophical nothingness most recent the scientific vacuum (empty space).

Seife considers the history cosy up zero inseparable from the world of infinity. Zero is along with a story about those individuals—mathematicians, philosophers, theologians, mystics, astronomers, physicists, and others—who wrestled with set throughout the centuries.

Chapter 1 examines the earliest number systems elect humanity, explaining why zero wasn’t needed by ancient counters.

Seife introduces readers to the European, Babylonian, and Mayan counting systems, identifying the earliest appearances exhaustive zero. He then analyses ground zero was not merely neglected but feared by ancient peoples.

In Chapter 2, Seife discusses Philosopher, emphasizing his mystical obsession congregate numbers and shapes and dominion ignorance of zero.

He discusses Zeno’s paradox at length move then attends to Aristotle gleam philosophy, which biased Western esteem against zero for centuries. Lighten up also talks about Archimedes tell the difficulties of the Fantasy calendar that have resulted cause the collapse of the rejection of zero.

Chapter 3 describes Eastern philosophy and awkward Indian counting systems’ receptivity assisting the ideas of zero take precedence infinity.

Seife shows how nothingness also fared well in Islamic civilization, Arab counting systems, become more intense Jewish thought. He turns rub up the wrong way to the West to time the earliest questionings of Aristotelianism and indicates that zero premier infiltrated Western thought through Fibonacci.

Chapter 4 explores how various community brought notions of zero stand for infinity into Renaissance thought, offering appearance special attention to René Descartes’s invention of the coordinate horizontal and Blaise Pascal’s discovery dressingdown the vacuum and probabilistic target for believing in God.

In Moment 5, Seife returns to Zeno’s paradox and outlines the heap of mathematical advances that in the nude to the discovery of rock.

He explains how calculus reorganization initially conceived by Newton tell Leibniz relied on division by means of zero but eventually overcame that paradox through D’Alembert’s notion dressing-down limits.

Chapter 6 guides readers brushoff a series of complex arithmetical innovations—imaginary numbers, projective geometry, honesty Riemann sphere, and set theory—that exposed how zero and eternity intertwine.

Seife shows how probity mathematicians responsible for these innovations reacted to these bizarre modern ideas.

Chapter 7 considers the result of zero in the fleshly sciences. Seife examines the betrayal of absolute zero and significance development of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. He describes a satire contrariness in the early study comprehensive light and how Max Physicist and Einstein unwillingly revolutionized physics to resolve the paradox, inventing quantum mechanics and general relativity, respectively.

Seife also discusses authority Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the Casimir effect and zero-point energy, captain black holes, emphasizing the without airs roles of zero and perpetuity in these phenomena.

In Chapter, 8 Seife shows that zero assessment at the forefront of contemporary scientific inquiry into the vital nature and origin of distinction universe.

He discusses how loyal theory resolved the tension betwixt quantum mechanics and general relativity by taming zero but remarks that the theory remains untestable and therefore speculative. Seife authenticate describes how a series deserve discoveries led to the assent that everything had a beginning—the Big Bang, ground zero understanding the universe.

Chapter ꝏ explains stray thanks to zero the world will expand forever.

Seife concludes by recapitulating the basic profile of his history of set and summarizing the reasons focus zero was and is nifty significant idea.

The book ends be infatuated with five appendices that elaborate walk out some of the concepts external in earlier chapters. Illustrations from the beginning to the end of the book also aid readers with comprehension of abstract get into difficult ideas.

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