The History of Mathematical Tables: From Sumer to Spreadsheets

by Martin Campbell-Kelly

The oldest known mathematical table was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Shuruppag in southern Iraq. The elaboration of two-dimensional tables, the ability to record and retrieve information, and the discovery of the computational power of tables formed important pre-cursors to modern computing and information processing. This book, the first comprehensive account of the history of mathematical tables, contains a series of articles summarising the technical, institutional, and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late twentieth century. It covers mathematical tables (the most important computing aid for several hundred years until the 1960s), data tables, professional tables, and spreadsheets - the most recent tabular innovation.

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published October 2, 2003

About the author

A specialist in the history of computing, Martin Campbell-Kelly is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Warwick.

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not for everyone, but as someone for whom the table of numbers is both the systemic facilitator of day-to-day life (uhh, that would be anyone who, against all odds, is reading this) and the active subject of daily bread-earning, this was a very interesting read.

[Robert Grossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what devices we used for computing before slide rules, calculators and computers, this it the book to read.