A History Of The World In Numbers

The history of our world can be told through numbers. Numbers can illuminate the broad sweep of history, from vast movements of populations and the expansion of empires to the effects of technological achievements or climatic change. They also allow us to drill into the real detail of history, from the page count, the cost and the time it took to produce the Gutenberg Bible (the West's first mass-produced book) to the price of Virginian tobacco in the 1620s, both of which had an immediate and lasting effect on the course of world history. And, just occasionally, numbers have the power to blow our minds. For example: in 2003 US research showed that one in every 200 men living on the planet today shares genetic material from a single male from around 900 years ago; the likely progenitor was Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan. A History of the World in Numbers will span the early civilizations of man, from the plains of Mesopotamia and the Indus Empire, right through to the modern day. The numbers, statistics and figures will dictate the topic of each entry, shining a light on each subject, whether it's the development of early writing in China or the number of Brodie helmets issued in World War One.

A quirky, full-colour illustrated book jam-packed with over 2,000 fascinating figures and facts, The World in Numbers lets figures do the talking.Each themed, colourful page is crammed with tonnes of fascinating number-led facts. Discover how fast a sneeze travels, how many Earths could fit inside the Sun, the size of a T-rex's teeth and much, much more. From animals and adventures, to fashion, food, bugs and buildings - there's something for everyone in this brilliant book. Featuring light-hearted illustrations by Andrew Pinder.

Readable, jargon-free book examines the earliest endeavors to count and record numbers, initial attempts to solve problems by using equations, and origins of infinite cardinal arithmetic. "Surprisingly exciting." — Choice.

The world around us is saturated with numbers. They are a fundamental pillar of our modern society, and accepted and used with hardly a second thought. But how did this state of affairs come to be? In this book, Leo Corry tells the story behind the idea of number from the early days of the Pythagoreans, up until the turn of the twentieth century. He presents an overview of how numbers were handled and conceived in classical Greek mathematics, in the mathematics of Islam, in European mathematics of the middle ages and the Renaissance, during the scientific revolution, all the way through to the mathematics of the 18th to the early 20th century. Focusing on both foundational debates and practical use numbers, and showing how the story of numbers is intimately linked to that of the idea of equation, this book provides a valuable insight to numbers for undergraduate students, teachers, engineers, professional mathematicians, and anyone with an interest in the history of mathematics.

Zillions of fun figures at your fingertips! Are you eager to know all the most incredible facts and stats? Would you like to number-crunch your way around the wonders of our world? Arm yourself with nuggets of number knowledge and fantastic figures with this data-filled book that explores everything in our world from space to sports and animals to art. How long does it take to put on a spacesuit? How many times does a sloth poop in a week? How many stone blocks are there in the Great Pyramid at Giza? What percentage of your brain do you really use? With intriguing fact-bites and colorful data graphics, Our World in Numbers takes you on a remarkable adventure by numbers, telling you everything you could possibly need to know--and more!

"Traces the development of numerical systems in Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Babylonian, and Mayan cultures, and examines the origins of the Hindu-Arabic numerals we use today"--Back cover.

Numbers: A Cultural History provides students with a compelling interdisciplinary view of the development of mathematics and its relationship to world cultures over 4,500 years of human history. Mathematics is often referred to as a "universal language," and that is a fitting description. Many cultures have contributed to mathematics in fascinating ways, but despite its "universal" character, mathematics is also a human endeavor. It has played pivotal roles in societies at particular times; and it has influenced, and been influenced by, a wide range of ideas and institutions, from commerce to philosophy. Ancient Egyptian views of mathematics, for example, are tied closely to engineering and agriculture. Some European Renaissance views, on the other hand, relate the study of number to that of the natural world. Numbers, A Cultural History seeks to place the history of mathematics into a broad cultural context. While it treats mathematical material in detail, it also relates that material to other subject matter: science, philosophy, navigation, commerce, religion, art, and architecture. It examines how mathematical thinking grows in specific cultural settings and how it has shaped those settings in turn. It also explores the movement of ideas between cultures and the evolution of modern mathematics and the quantitative, data-driven world in which we live.