From Here To Infinity

Provides an introduction to the Japanese artist who is known for her use of dots.

A retitled and revised edition of Ian Stewart's The Problem of Mathematics, this is the perfect guide to today's mathematics. Read about the latest discoveries, including Andrew Wile's amazing proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, the newest advances in knot theory, the Four Colour Theorem, Chaos Theory, and fake four-dimensial spaces. See how simple concepts from probability theory shed light on the National Lottery and tell you how to maximize your winnings. Discover howinfinitesimals become respectable, why there are different kinds of infinity, and how to square the circle with the mathematical equivalent of a pair of scissors.

The BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures were given in 2010 by the Astronomer Royal, Professor Martin Rees. In this expanded version of the lectures (doubled in length with new material) Martin Rees shows how important science will be to the global economies of the 21st century, to solving some of our apparently intractable problems and to understanding the risks that the world faces.Science is often seen as difficult or obscure, but some great scientists (like the author) are so clear that we can all understand it and participate in the great debates that should concern us all whether they are about swine flu, global warming, oil running out, or even space travel. In four dazzling chapters (plus introduction and conclusion) Martin Rees shows the pleasures and importance of science, warns all of us (including governments intent on cutting funding) why we must take science deadly seriously and why it apart from everything else it is so satisfying - one of humankind's greatest achievements.

'Science has never had an advocate quite like David Deutsch ... A computational physicist on a par with his touchstones Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, and a philosopher in the line of his greatest hero, Karl Popper. His arguments are so clear that to read him is to experience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet and to understand it' Peter Forbes, Independent In our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely? In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity's infinite possibility. 'This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement 'Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive' Economist 'David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age' Scotsman

When I looked up, I shivered. How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity. I started to feel very, very small. How could I even think about something as big as infinity? Uma can't help feeling small when she peers up at the night sky. She begins to wonder about infinity. Is infinity a number that grows forever? Is it an endless racetrack? Could infinity be in an ice cream cone? Uma soon finds that the ways to think about this big idea may just be . . . infinite.

Scholastic's next multi-platform mega-event begins here!History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel -- a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring -- they're swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.Now it's up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak's missing parents while they're at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

Only a book this big could convey the majesty of the ever-expanding universe and provide a glimpse into the ultimate limits of space. Originally published in French in 1997 and updated to include recent developments, this volume takes readers on a unique, scenic exploration of the universe. More than 200 incredible, full-color photographs gathered from the Hubble Space Telescope and the largest telescopes in the world capture the magic and wonder found in the vast expanse of the universe. In a beautiful, large format, containing many full-page color spreads, Majestic Universe allows readers to witness the birth of stars; scan the sky for extrasolar planets; venture near black holes; travel into the realm of galaxies and clusters of galaxies; gauge the vastness of space with Hipparcos; and finally wonder about the history and future of our mysterious universe. Clear, enthusiastic captions accompany each image, providing details on the great theories of the structure of the cosmos; descriptions of the latest advances in cosmology; and a trip into the past in search of the origins of the universe, of space, and of time. Majestice Universe is the ultimate "vehicle" for armchair space buffs to explore the final frontier. Serge Brunier is chief editor of the journal Ciel et Espace, a photo-journalist, and the author of many nonfiction books aimed at both specialists and the general public.

Infinity is an intriguing topic, with connections to religion, philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and physics as well as mathematics. Its history goes back to ancient times, with especially important contributions from Euclid, Aristotle, Eudoxus, and Archimedes. The infinitely large (infinite) isintimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Cosmologists consider sweeping questions about whether space and time are infinite. Philosophers and mathematicians ranging from Zeno to Russell have posed numerous paradoxes about infinity and infinitesimals. Many vital areas ofmathematics rest upon some version of infinity. The most obvious, and the first context in which major new techniques depended on formulating infinite processes, is calculus. But there are many others, for example Fourier analysis and fractals.In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart discusses infinity in mathematics while also drawing in the various other aspects of infinity and explaining some of the major problems and insights arising from this concept. He argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectualexercise but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.