Hidden Harmonies The Lives and Times of the Pythagorean Theorem

by Kaplan, Robert; Kaplan, Ellen

• ISBN13: 9781596915220
• ISBN10: 1596915226
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-04
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press

Summary

With wit, verve, and clarity, the authors trace the life of the Pythagorean theorem, from ancient Babylon to the present.

Author Biography

Robert and Ellen Kaplan have taught mathematics to people from six to sixty at leading independent schools and most recently at Harvard University. Robert Kaplan is the author of The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero, which has been translated into ten languages, and together they wrote The Art of the Infinite and Out of the Labyrinth. Ellen Kaplan is also coauthor of Chances Are . . .: Adventures in Probability and Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human, cowritten with their son Michael Kaplan.

Table of Contents

“Beauty, intrigue, paradox and surprise. Mathematics, in its true essence, is a deeply organic and intensely human enterprise and Bob and Ellen Kaplan are the masters of reveling in its delight and elucidating its richness. Hidden Harmonies is a stunning book, taking the most classic theorem in mathematics and exposing its story, its human story, for what it really is: true poetry.”—James Tanton, PhD, author and educator, founding director of the St. Mark’s Institute of Mathematics

“…The authors succeed in explaining the arcane aspects of the subject, and they are diligent in situating the Pythagorean theorem within the historical rise of mathematics. That they revel in the subject is clear…”—Wall Street Journal

 

“Showing the theorem’s endless versatility, the Kaplans and their logic- and symbol-permeated text will engage those who delight in doing the math.”—Booklist

 

“Enthusiasm and wit make the material appealing even to readers who aren't mathematicians … inspired.”—Kirkus

 

“The book possesses an alluring lyricism and a good sense of humor, and it’s often as fun to be around…”—Anthony Doerr, Boston Globe

 

“The Kaplans have given us a wonderful, fun, and entertaining math book.”—Library Journal