The Irrationals: A Story of the Numbers You Can't Count On

Book Details

• Author: Julian Havil

• Brand: Princeton University Press

• Binding: Paperback

• Number of Pages: 312

• ISBN: 9780691163536

• Languages: English

About the Book

The Irrationals offers a captivating journey into the world of irrational numbers, tracing their history from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Julian Havil, in this first popular history of irrational numbers, takes us through the twists and turns of mathematical discovery, showing how these numbers, once thought to be nothing more than curiosities, have shaped our understanding of mathematics.

Starting with the ancient Greek discovery of irrational numbers, the book explores the intellectual challenges these numbers presented to mathematicians for centuries. Though the Greeks stumbled upon irrational numbers while studying the properties of geometry, it was not until the nineteenth century that they were properly understood and rigorously defined. Even today, many aspects of irrational numbers remain shrouded in mystery, with new questions still emerging in the field of mathematics.

Havil’s clear and engaging narrative demystifies the complexities of irrational numbers, showing how they continue to influence not just mathematics, but also our broader understanding of numbers, logic, and the infinite. This book is a must-read for anyone fascinated by math, its history, and the mathematicians who have dedicated their lives to unlocking its secrets.

Fascinating, thought-provoking, and thoroughly accessible, The Irrationals will appeal to both math lovers and those curious about the profound story behind the numbers that cannot be neatly captured by fractions.