The Calculus Wars
Subtitle: Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time
Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press
Published: April 3, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 277
ISBN-13: 9781560257066
Subjects: Calculus & mathematical analysis; History Of Mathematics; Mathematics; Science/Mathematics; Calculus; History & Philosophy; Science / History; 1642-1727; 1646-1716; 18th century; Freiherr von,; History; Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm,; Newton, Isaac,; Sir,
First sentence: Three hundred years ago, history was made when a forgotten English printing press pounded out a few hundred copies of a 348-page work written by a minor government administrator, the retired Cambridge University professor Isaac Newton.
Description: Today Newton and Leibniz are generally considered the twin independent inventors of calculus, and they are both credited with giving mathematics its greatest push forward since the time of the Greeks. Had they known each other under different circumstances, they might have been friends. But in their own lifetimes, the joint glory of calculus was not enough for either and each declared war against the other, openly and in secret. This long and bitter dispute has been swept under the carpet by historians--perhaps because it reveals Newton and Leibniz in their worst light--but this book tells the full story in narrative form for the first time, ultimately exposing how these twin mathematical giants were brilliant, proud, at times mad and, in the end, completely human.--From publisher description.