Dover Books on Mathematics Ser.: History of Greek Mathematics by Thomas Heath (1981, Trade Paperback)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherDover Publications, Incorporated
ISBN-100486240738
ISBN-139780486240732
eBay Product ID (ePID)346971

Product Key Features

Educational LevelHigh School, Elementary School
Number of Pages464 Pages
Publication NameHistory of Greek Mathematics
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year1981
SubjectHistory & Philosophy
FeaturesNew Edition
TypeStudy Guide
Subject AreaMathematics
AuthorThomas Heath
SeriesDover Books on Mathematics Ser.
FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in
Item Weight19.1 Oz
Item Length8.2 in
Item Width5.7 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceElementary/High School
LCCN80-070126
TitleLeadingA
Series Volume Number1
Number of Volumes2 vols.
IllustratedYes
Volume NumberVol. 1
Edition DescriptionNew Edition
Synopsis"As it is, the book is indispensable; it has, indeed, no serious English rival." -- Times Literary Supplement . "Sir Thomas Heath, foremost English historian of the ancient exact sciences in the twentieth century." -- Professor W. H. Stahl "Indeed, seeing that so much of Greek is mathematics, it is arguable that, if one would understand the Greek genius fully, it would be a good plan to begin with their geometry." The perspective that enabled Sir Thomas Heath to understand the Greek genius -- deep intimacy with languages, literatures, philosophy, and all the sciences -- brought him perhaps closer to his beloved subjects and to their own ideal of educated men, than is common or even possible today. Heath read the original texts with a critical, scrupulous eye, and brought to this definitive two-volume history the insights of a mathematician communicated with the clarity of classically taught English. "Of all the manifestations of the Greek genius none is more impressive and even awe-inspiring than that which is revealed by the history of Greek mathematics." Heath records that history with the scholarly comprehension and comprehensiveness that marks this work as obviously classic now as when it first appeared in 1921. The linkage and unity of mathematics and philosophy suggest the outline for the entire history. Heath covers in sequence Greek numerical notation, Pythagorean arithmetic, Thales and Pythagorean geometry, Zeno, Plato, Euclid, Aristarchus, Archimedes, Apollonius, Hipparchus and trigonometry, Ptolemy, Heron, Pappus, Diophantus of Alexandria and the algebra. Interspersed are sections devoted to the history and analysis of famous problems: squaring the circle, angle trisection, duplication of the cube, and an appendix on Archimedes' proof of the subtangent property of a spiral. The coverage is everywhere thorough and judicious; but Heath is not content with plain exposition: It is a defect in the existing histories that, while they state generally the contents of, and the main propositions proved in, the great treatises of Archimedes and Apollonius, they make little attempt to describe the procedure by which the results are obtained. I have therefore taken pains, in the most significant cases, to show the course of the argument in sufficient detail to enable a competent mathematician to grasp the method used and to apply it, if he will, to other similar investigations. Mathematicians, then, will rejoice to find Heath back in print and accessible after many years. Historians of Greek culture and science can renew acquaintance with a standard reference; readers in general will find, particularly in the energetic discourses on Euclid and Archimedes, exactly what Heath means by impressive and awe-inspiring ., "As it is, the book is indispensab≤ it has, indeed, no serious English rival." -- Times Literary Supplement . "Sir Thomas Heath, foremost English historian of the ancient exact sciences in the twentieth century." -- Professor W. H. Stahl "Indeed, seeing that so much of Greek is mathematics, it is arguable that, if one would understand the Greek genius fully, it would be a good plan to begin with their geometry." The perspective that enabled Sir Thomas Heath to understand the Greek genius -- deep intimacy with languages, literatures, philosophy, and all the sciences -- brought him perhaps closer to his beloved subjects and to their own ideal of educated men, than is common or even possible today. Heath read the original texts with a critical, scrupulous eye, and brought to this definitive two-volume history the insights of a mathematician communicated with the clarity of classically taught English. "Of all the manifestations of the Greek genius none is more impressive and even awe-inspiring than that which is revealed by the history of Greek mathematics." Heath records that history with the scholarly comprehension and comprehensiveness that marks this work as obviously classic now as when it first appeared in 1921. The linkage and unity of mathematics and philosophy suggest the outline for the entire history. Heath covers in sequence Greek numerical notation, Pythagorean arithmetic, Thales and Pythagorean geometry, Zeno, Plato, Euclid, Aristarchus, Archimedes, Apollonius, Hipparchus and trigonometry, Ptolemy, Heron, Pappus, Diophantus of Alexandria and the algebra. Interspersed are sections devoted to the history and analysis of famous problems: squaring the circle, angle trisection, duplication of the cube, and an appendix on Archimedes' proof of the subtangent property of a spiral. The coverage is everywhere thorough and judicious; but Heath is not content with plain exposition: It is a defect in the existing histories that, while they state generally the contents of, and the main propositions proved in, the great treatises of Archimedes and Apollonius, they make little attempt to describe the procedure by which the results are obtained. I have therefore taken pains, in the most significant cases, to show the course of the argument in sufficient detail to enable a competent mathematician to grasp the method used and to apply it, if he will, to other similar investigations. Mathematicians, then, will rejoice to find Heath back in print and accessible after many years. Historians of Greek culture and science can renew acquaintance with a standard reference; readers in general will find, particularly in the energetic discourses on Euclid and Archimedes, exactly what Heath means by impressive and awe-inspiring ., Volume 1 of an authoritative two-volume set that covers the essentials of mathematics and includes every landmark innovation and every important figure. This volume features Euclid, Apollonius, others., Volume 1 of an authoritative two-volume set that covers the essentials of mathematics and features every landmark innovation and every important figure, including Euclid, Apollonius, Archimedes, and others.
LC Classification NumberQA22.H4 19
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