Number: The Language of Science

Tobias Dantzig

Number:The Language of Science is a tour de force that is both eloquent and easily accessible, and it illustrates how the concept of number evolved from prehistoric times up until the twentieth century. Tobias Dantzig, a renowned professor of mathematics, demonstrates that the development of mathematics, from the invention of counting to the discovery of infinity, is a profoundly human story that progressed by “trying and erring, by groping and stumbling.”

This book traces the history of mathematics, from the invention of counting to the discovery of infinity. He demonstrates how business, war, and religion all contributed to the development of mathematics. He tells the stories of the people whose innovations enlarged the concept of numbers and developed the mathematics we are familiar with today.