PublishedOxford University Press, February 2016 |
ISBN9780198753353 |
FormatHardcover, 192 pages |
Dimensions24.1cm × 17.2cm × 1.7cm |
Mathematics did not spring spontaneously into life, with rules set in stone for all time. Its story is closely linked with the problems of measurement and money that have often driven its progress. Quite Right explains how mathematical ideas have gradually emerged since prehistoric times, so that they pervade almost every aspect of life in the twenty-first century Many histories of mathematics focus on the activities of those for whom mathematics itself was the
motivation. Professor Biggs adopts a wider viewpoint. Making use of new discoveries of artefacts and documents, he explains the part that mathematics has played in the human story, and what that tells us
about the nature of mathematics. The story reveals the power and beauty of mathematical concepts, which often belie their utilitarian origins. The twin paradigms of logical justification and algorithmic calculation recur throughout the book. No other book tells the story of mathematics, measurement, and money in this way.
