Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea.ZERO: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A DANGEROUS IDEA. Charles Seife. 2000/2003. Read by the author. 4 tapes. 6 hrs. New Millennium Audio. 1-590-07354-1. $24.95. Cardboard; content, author notes. SA Most people take zero for granted as a number that stands for a quantity of nothing. However, throughout history, many civilizations were either unaware of zero or were simply terrified ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. of this unusual number and actively sought to keep it out of their numerical systems. And yet, zero means far more than nothing. Its presence not only enables us to do arithmetic easily, but, with its twin, infinity infinity, in mathematics, that which is not finite. A sequence of numbers, a1, a2, a3, … , is said to "approach infinity" if the numbers eventually become arbitrarily large, i.e. , makes possible modern calculus calculus, branch of mathematics that studies continuously changing quantities. The calculus is characterized by the use of infinite processes, involving passage to a limit—the notion of tending toward, or approaching, an ultimate value. and physics. From Xeno's paradox paradox, statement that appears self-contradictory but actually has a basis in truth, e.g., Oscar Wilde's "Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. to an articulate explanation of string theory and Cantor's reasoning that there are the same number of integers and rational numbers (akin to saying that the number of integers is the same as the number of even numbers), this book will make these fascinating ideas accessible to the non-physicist and non-mathematician. The author's enthusiastic reading combined with his clear, accurate and accessible explanations of important concepts in mathematics and physics make this a great listening experience. His reading is a bit on the fast side, but once immersed im·merse tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es 1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge. 2. To baptize by submerging in water. 3. in the book, listeners will adapt to the pace. Susan Offner, Teacher Lexington H.S., Lexington, MA |
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