Thursday, July 26, 2012

Tobias Dantzig, Number: The Language of Science **** 1/2

Jackpot. I was casually browsing the Science and Mathematics section of the book store when I noticed Number with its recommendation from Albert Einstein ("Beyond doubt the most interesting book on the evolution of mathematics which has ever fallen into my hands"). I'm always interested in the history of ideas, especially the history of ideas we take for granted like the concept of number. Number presents this history well, showing how the concept derives from the practical problems we solve with it.

Beyond its specific focus on number, I think Dantzig's book provides a clear, concise, practical demonstration of how human interests and cognitive abilities shape the reality of the wold we live in. Plenty of philosophers present their views on the objective reality of the world and its relation to our conceptual understanding of it, but none with the specificity of Dantzig and the single fundamental concept of number. He's an entertaining writer too!

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