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Loading... The Kingdom of Infinite Number: A Field Guide (edition 2001)by Bryan BunchHow did I enjoy thee? Let me count the ways. This book isn't for everyone, but if you like numbers, this is an incredibly fun book. It is like a field guide to animals or insects or rocks: It is a list of numbers you might encounter, and what their characteristics are. So the number four is a square, six is triangular, and so forth. All the smaller positive integers are covered, and some larger integers. After that, we get into fractions, algebraic numbers, even such things as Liouville Numbers -- numbers which are not the solution to any algebraic equation. To me at least, those are the really fun part. Sure, it's interesting that eight is the first even cubic number, or the like -- but those sorts of things we encounter in relatively ordinary life. Liouville Numbers? I have a math degree, and I'd never heard of them. Scattered through the book are little excursi on number theory topics. These too are quite pleasant. And the best part is, it all takes very little mathematical knowledge. (That's perhaps the best part of number theory.) Mathematicians may be the most likely to appreciate this book, but there really is something here for everyone. Go ahead, give it a try. I suspect you'll read more of it than you expected upon opening it. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)513Natural sciences and mathematics Mathematics ArithmeticLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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This book isn't for everyone, but if you like numbers, this is an incredibly fun book. It is like a field guide to animals or insects or rocks: It is a list of numbers you might encounter, and what their characteristics are. So the number four is a square, six is triangular, and so forth. All the smaller positive integers are covered, and some larger integers. After that, we get into fractions, algebraic numbers, even such things as Liouville Numbers -- numbers which are not the solution to any algebraic equation.
To me at least, those are the really fun part. Sure, it's interesting that eight is the first even cubic number, or the like -- but those sorts of things we encounter in relatively ordinary life. Liouville Numbers? I have a math degree, and I'd never heard of them.
Scattered through the book are little excursi on number theory topics. These too are quite pleasant.
And the best part is, it all takes very little mathematical knowledge. (That's perhaps the best part of number theory.) Mathematicians may be the most likely to appreciate this book, but there really is something here for everyone. Go ahead, give it a try. I suspect you'll read more of it than you expected upon opening it. ( )