50 Mathematical Ideas You Really Need to Know

Tony Crilly

Oct 2013 · Quercus

About this ebook

Just the mention of mathematics is enough to strike fear into the hearts of many, yet without it, the human race couldn't be where it is today. By exploring the subject through its 50 key insights--from the simple (the number one) and the subtle (the invention of zero) to the sophisticated (proving Fermat's last theorem)--this book shows how mathematics has changed the way we look at the world around us.

About the author

Tony Crilly is Reader in Mathematical Sciences at Middlesex University, having previously taught at the University of Michigan, the City University in Hong Kong, and the Open University. His principal research interest is the history of mathematics, and he has written and edited many works on fractals, chaos and computing. He is the author of the acclaimed biography of the English mathematician Arthur Cayley.