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The Invention of Numbers
Numbers are at the heart of the existence of the universe and everything in it, and yet a lot of us have little understanding of their creation, let alone their part in philosophy, art, music, physics, literature, religion and computing.
Dr Bentley's fascinating history of the origins of numbers will unlock the secrets of these things that we take for granted and shows how numbers seem to take on human characteristiscs - as they can be perfect or irrational, amicable or prime, real or imaginary.
From zero to infinity, learn about the way numbers have shaped our world, discover amazing facts and enjoy the pure beauty of mathematical logic.
Dr Bentley's fascinating history of the origins of numbers will unlock the secrets of these things that we take for granted and shows how numbers seem to take on human characteristiscs - as they can be perfect or irrational, amicable or prime, real or imaginary.
From zero to infinity, learn about the way numbers have shaped our world, discover amazing facts and enjoy the pure beauty of mathematical logic.
- GenresMathematics
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2016
7 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Peter J. Bentley
37 books13 followersDr Peter Bentley is an Honorary Reader and Senior College Teacher at the Department of Computer Science, University College London and is known for his research covering all aspects of Evolutionary Computation and Digital Biology. He is the author of the popular science books Digital Biology, The Undercover Scientist and Digitized, and editor of the books Evolutionary Design by Computers, Creative Evolutionary Systems and On Growth, Form and Computers.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 9, 2016
Although there are many books about the history of reading and books, I can’t recall reading one about the history of numbers before. Subtitled, “From Zeroes to Heroes: The secrets of numbers and how they created our world,” this book reveals how important numbers are in our lives. It looks at the history of when numbers were first invented, how they are used – fractions, number patterns and so much more. Can there be lucky numbers? How big can a number be?
I found this a really absorbing and interesting history. From philosophy, art, music, architecture, physics, commerce, religion and so much more, numbers are intrinsically linked into our history. However, if, like me, you are of a certain age and need reading glasses, I might suggest that you get this book on kindle, so you can enlarge the font. Even with my reading glasses, I found this very difficult to read as the font is so small. Obviously, this does not have any relevance on the books material, but I did struggle through this simply due to the difficulty of reading it.
The author is obviously aware that many readers will not have a high level of mathematical ability and he does his best to make it accessible and understandable. Lastly, the author admits that there are few females mentioned in this history and encourages women to become involved in the world of mathematics. I applaud that suggestion and am glad he felt that, if it needed to be said, he would be brave enough to say it.
I found this a really absorbing and interesting history. From philosophy, art, music, architecture, physics, commerce, religion and so much more, numbers are intrinsically linked into our history. However, if, like me, you are of a certain age and need reading glasses, I might suggest that you get this book on kindle, so you can enlarge the font. Even with my reading glasses, I found this very difficult to read as the font is so small. Obviously, this does not have any relevance on the books material, but I did struggle through this simply due to the difficulty of reading it.
The author is obviously aware that many readers will not have a high level of mathematical ability and he does his best to make it accessible and understandable. Lastly, the author admits that there are few females mentioned in this history and encourages women to become involved in the world of mathematics. I applaud that suggestion and am glad he felt that, if it needed to be said, he would be brave enough to say it.
April 8, 2017
Wow. So this took me a while to read, three weeks, to be exact, but the time spent on it did not take away from the impact of this book. Note: I am definitely aware that part of the reason I enjoyed this book SO much is because the content speaks to me. I live for the numbers. I would start ranting about mathematics but that could go on for a while.
The book. It's a collection of the various scientific and mathematical points throughout history from which our current understanding of numbers was developed. It's simple to read, easy to understand, and if you're interested in a little non fiction about the history and development of mathematics, I recommend this one.
I stood in the book store for a very long time trying to pick a book to buy. I eventually settled on this one, at least a little bit because it looked pretty. :)
The book. It's a collection of the various scientific and mathematical points throughout history from which our current understanding of numbers was developed. It's simple to read, easy to understand, and if you're interested in a little non fiction about the history and development of mathematics, I recommend this one.
I stood in the book store for a very long time trying to pick a book to buy. I eventually settled on this one, at least a little bit because it looked pretty. :)
November 21, 2023
A journey to the centre of the numbers. How it was formed, from the rise of numerology, religion of numbers to modern day quantum mechanics and complexity sciences. There is beauty of numbers that resides in nature’s patterns. Author helps to open up view to new worlds using simple mathematical explanations and personally it helps me to appreciate the Grand Designer even though the author doesn’t 😂.
January 21, 2021
Fascinating book about history of numbers. That numbers actually are words and symbols that we use to describe patterns as the author said. The book starts with how numbers are everywhere that it can be found and becoming so important in our daily lives. Then, the book tells us how ancient people found ways to count before they invented numbers then how people started to come up with numbers used as terms to name and define patterns to make counting easier, then how until now mathematic as languange of numbers itself has evolved.
As for me, it’s not really an easy read as there are still some concepts hard enough to grasp that I need further reading to understand better. Nevertheless, the author did a good job at explaining the basic concepts along with the discoverers' life tale. I think it’s better not to read this book in one sitting like I did as I found first chapters catching and flowing easily but then it slowly requires more concentration to get through further chapters.
Still, I think, it's a good book to start with to make readers realize that math, unlike what commonly taught at schools, is not merely formulas to be memorized and problem sets to be solved using the memorized formulas, but more than that, math is a languange that come from sense of wonder to unravel things around us. It's logic that feeds the curiosity.
Last but not least, I'm fond of the way the author cleverly and creatively titled the chapters!
As for me, it’s not really an easy read as there are still some concepts hard enough to grasp that I need further reading to understand better. Nevertheless, the author did a good job at explaining the basic concepts along with the discoverers' life tale. I think it’s better not to read this book in one sitting like I did as I found first chapters catching and flowing easily but then it slowly requires more concentration to get through further chapters.
Still, I think, it's a good book to start with to make readers realize that math, unlike what commonly taught at schools, is not merely formulas to be memorized and problem sets to be solved using the memorized formulas, but more than that, math is a languange that come from sense of wonder to unravel things around us. It's logic that feeds the curiosity.
Last but not least, I'm fond of the way the author cleverly and creatively titled the chapters!
October 9, 2022
Like Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Nearly Everything, The Invention of Numbers by Peter J. Bentley (2016) is a gentle, wisecracking guide to the fumbling and fascinating process of human discovery.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In a mere 250 pages, Bentley takes us on a tour of how humans discovered and became obsessed with mathematics. Along the way, we read riveting accounts about famous geniuses like Einstein and Euler, but also forgotten ones like Van Ceulen, who spent a lifetime calculating the value of pi to 35 decimal places, Niccolo Fontana and how jealously he guarded his work on cubic equations and imaginary numbers, or John Napier, who was so brilliant that he couldn't accept the idea of his own death and decay.
Every now and then, Bentley gives us short lessons on math concepts--nothing too technical, just enough to light a fire in the reader's brain. My favorite ones were about perfect and amicable numbers, time dilation, and logarithms. I also found the sections on chaos theory and fractals fascinating, although it's the fascination of a child looking at something incomprehensible and far beyond himself.
Excellent popular science books like The Invention of Numbers make me wish that I've read them sooner. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so indifferent to and terrified of mathematics as a student.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In a mere 250 pages, Bentley takes us on a tour of how humans discovered and became obsessed with mathematics. Along the way, we read riveting accounts about famous geniuses like Einstein and Euler, but also forgotten ones like Van Ceulen, who spent a lifetime calculating the value of pi to 35 decimal places, Niccolo Fontana and how jealously he guarded his work on cubic equations and imaginary numbers, or John Napier, who was so brilliant that he couldn't accept the idea of his own death and decay.
Every now and then, Bentley gives us short lessons on math concepts--nothing too technical, just enough to light a fire in the reader's brain. My favorite ones were about perfect and amicable numbers, time dilation, and logarithms. I also found the sections on chaos theory and fractals fascinating, although it's the fascination of a child looking at something incomprehensible and far beyond himself.
Excellent popular science books like The Invention of Numbers make me wish that I've read them sooner. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so indifferent to and terrified of mathematics as a student.
August 1, 2018
labs hot gossip par matemātiķiem <3
January 16, 2023
Great read for people curious about how mathematics came together as a field, and even more so for those keen on mentally working through some of the proofs with useful guidance from the author.
January 22, 2017
How many of us actually think about numbers; I'm sure most of us take them for granted without thinking about how we use them, and what our lives would be like without them. This book tackles the fascinating story behind the invention of numbers. However, I think that in order to gain the most from this book you do need an appreciation of the subject, and at times this is quite complicated.
The author tries to, not make light of the subject, but to make it lighter with little bits of humour injected here and there; sadly it still makes for a somewhat dry and difficult read. I found parts of it fascinating and easy to read, other parts a bit mind-boggling which took a great deal of concentration. The ironic thing is that, in my case, I hated any form of mathematics at school beyond primary, then I went into business with my husband and became his bookkeeper, and began to not exactly enjoy it, but at least to gain satisfaction from getting things to balance.
The book is divided into chapters, some of which have mathematical symbols instead of numbers, then at the back is an extensive bibliography and index.
It is a book I will go back to because I know sections of it were too difficult for me to take in and need more time to absorb
My main issue with this book is nothing to do with the writing, which is good, or the subject, which I find interesting. No – it's much more basic than that – it's the size of the type face. It is excruciatingly small! Couldn't the publishers have spared a little more ink and paper to make it slightly easier, physically, to read?
I was sent a copy by amazon specifically to review.
The author tries to, not make light of the subject, but to make it lighter with little bits of humour injected here and there; sadly it still makes for a somewhat dry and difficult read. I found parts of it fascinating and easy to read, other parts a bit mind-boggling which took a great deal of concentration. The ironic thing is that, in my case, I hated any form of mathematics at school beyond primary, then I went into business with my husband and became his bookkeeper, and began to not exactly enjoy it, but at least to gain satisfaction from getting things to balance.
The book is divided into chapters, some of which have mathematical symbols instead of numbers, then at the back is an extensive bibliography and index.
It is a book I will go back to because I know sections of it were too difficult for me to take in and need more time to absorb
My main issue with this book is nothing to do with the writing, which is good, or the subject, which I find interesting. No – it's much more basic than that – it's the size of the type face. It is excruciatingly small! Couldn't the publishers have spared a little more ink and paper to make it slightly easier, physically, to read?
I was sent a copy by amazon specifically to review.
November 29, 2016
great book if you enjoy math.
November 11, 2018
The history and concepts introduced in this book are so interesting, and the organization of the chapter kept the information together without jumping around.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews