num_pages: 192
description: Most popular books about science and even about mathematics tiptoe around equations as if they were something to be hidden from the reader's tender eyes. Dana Mackenzie starts from the opposite premise: He celebrates equations. No history of art would be complete without pictures. Why then should a history of mathematics -- the universal language of science -- keep the masterpieces of the subject hidden behind a veil?The Universe in Zero Words tells the history of twenty-four great and beautiful equations that have shaped mathematics science and society -- from the elementary (11  2) to the sophisticated (the Black-Scholes formula for financial derivatives) and from the famous (E  mc^2) to the arcane (Hamilton's quaternion equations). Mackenzie who has been called a popular-science ace by Booklist magazine lucidly explains what each equation means who discovered it (and how) and how it has affected our lives.(From the jacket copy.)Note: The Princeton University Press version (black cover) is for sale in the English-speaking world outside Australia. The Newsouth Press version (blue cover) is for sale in Australia. The two versions are identical except for the covers.
language: English
title: The Universe in Zero Words: The Story of Mathematics as Told through Equations
publisher: Princeton University Press