From One to Zero: A Universal History of Numbers

by Georges Ifrah, Lowell Bair (Translator)

Details the story of how numerals and numerical systems originated and evolved, from the tools of primitive counting to the symbols and concepts of sophisticated calculation

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mathematics, Science

503 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 1987

Reviews

[Adarsh Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Positional numbering system is the defining moment of Humanity"- true; but in reality positional numbering happened (in different timelines, at different places) 4 times by Babylonians, Chinese , Mayans and Indians- and this is just the kind of flaws this otherwise good book suffers from.

What could have been a magnum opus on Arithmetic, ends up being an exhaustive, but flawed history of development of numbers/numerals and other arithmetic concepts. Covering Sumerians through Babylonians, Egyptians to Romans, Indians and Chinese - and littered with interesting facts, the book is very wide in its coverage.
A number of facts presented in the book have been since then proven incorrect ( a large number of those errors are personal opinions presented as facts; but that does not take away the position this monumental work should hold in the terms of its spawn and effort.

As long as one reads the book with some care (if anything appears too incredulous, do check alternate sources), and take things with a pinch of salt, it is a decent enough read- albeit only for people who are interested in such topics.

[B. Zucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really made me think about how the Hindu-Arabic number system unlocked many possibilities for us as a species. Very interesting to see how people used to count and write numbers, and how one clearly superior system came to dominate.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad actually, quite informative

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging look into a part of the world that is normally too common to notice.

[Yune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed survey of counting systems across the world and ages. There are a lot more variations than you'd think; we're just so entrenched in our Arabic system. I skimmed over some of the painstaking details of each system, but everything presented on a more generalized conceptual level was fascinating.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some really interesting information about the origin of numbers and number systems. I had been wondering about why the circle is divided into 360 degrees and not 100 or something else. Then I found this book in a used book store. Eureka!

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1201874.html[return][return]a fascinating read. Ifrah has catalogued the totality of arch

[Dokusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine historische Übersicht über die Entwicklung der Zahlzeichen im Laufe der Geschichte, mit vielen Diagrammen und Tafeln. Sehr informativ.