Synopses & Reviews
For more than two thousand years, geometry has been equated with Euclids Elements, the worlds first mathematical treatise. The system of shapes and space it describes is at once so powerful and so natural that it has intrigued men and women for centuries, and continues to be taught in classrooms around the world. In The King of Infinite Space, David Berlinski pays homage to Euclid and the vision that he created, showing how Euclid has achieved a hold on our imagination for reasons that go beyond the details of his proofs. Euclid provided mathematicians with a way of life, a technique of proceeding from what must be assumed to what can be demonstrated. The circumstances under which Euclid composed the Elements remain largely unknown, and the details of his life have long since vanished. But through his masterpiece, Euclidand the mathematical tradition he establishedhave achieved immortality. Written with Berlinskis characteristic lyricism and verve, The King of Infinite Space offers a rich, accessible treatment of Euclid and his Elements.
Synopsis
Geometry defines the world around us, helping us make sense of everything from architecture to military science to fashion. And for over two thousand years, geometry has been equated with Euclid's
Elements, arguably the most influential book in the history of mathematics In
The King of Infinite Space, renowned mathematics writer David Berlinski provides a concise homage to this elusive mathematician and his staggering achievements. Berlinski shows that, for centuries, scientists and thinkers from Copernicus to Newton to Einstein have relied on Euclid's axiomatic system, a method of proof still taught in classrooms around the world. Euclid's use of elemental logic -- and the mathematical statements he and others built from it -- have dramatically expanded the frontiers of human knowledge.
The King of Infinite Space presents a rich, accessible treatment of Euclid and his beautifully simple geometric system, which continues to shape the way we see the world.
About the Author
David Berlinski holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and has taught mathematics and philosophy at universities in the United States and in France. He is the bestselling author of such books as A Tour of the Calculus, The Advent of the Algorithm, and Newtons Gift. A senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle and a former fellow at the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Berlinski writes frequently for Commentary, among other journals.