The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer

by Georges Ifrah

• ISBN13: 9780471375685
• ISBN10: 0471375683
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Monumental [and] dazzling. A wonderful gift."_Kirkus Reviews"Georges Ifrah is the man, and this book, quite simply, rules. . . . It is outstanding . . . a mind-boggling and enriching experience."_Guardian (London)"Monumental . . . a fascinating journey taking us through many different cultures."_The Times (London)"Ifrah's book amazes and fascinates by the scope of its scholarship. It is nothing less than the history of the human race told through figures."_International Herald TribuneA riveting history of numbers from the time of the cave dwellers to the twentieth century, this landmark international bestseller is the first complete, universal study of the invention and evolution of numbers the world over. Georges Ifrah brings numbers to thrilling life, explaining their development in human terms, the interesting situations that made them necessary, and the brilliant achievements in human thought that they made possible. The reader is taken through the numbers story from Europe to China, via ancient Greece and Rome, Mesopotamia, Latin America, India, and the Arabic countries. Exploring the many ways civilizations developed and changed their mathematical systems, Ifrah imparts a unique insight into the nature of human thought_and into how our understanding of numbers and the ways they shape our lives has changed over thousands of years. The engaging text is illustrated with over 150 figures.George Ifrah (France) is an independent scholar and former math teacher. He has been called the "Indiana Jones" of numbers.

Author Biography

Georges Ifrah is an independent scholar and former math teacher. David Bellos, the primary translator, is Professor of French at Princeton University. Sophie Wood, cotranslator, is a specialist in technical translation from French. Ian Monk, cotranslator, has translated the works of Georges Perec and Daniel Pennac.

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
List of Abbreviations	vi
Introduction where ``Numbers'' Come From	xv
Explaining the Origins: Ethnological and Psychological Approaches to the Sources of Numbers	3	(20)
Base Numbers and the Birth of Number-systems	23	(24)
The Earliest Calculating Machine -- The Hand	47	(15)
How Cro-Magnon Man Counted	62	(2)
Tally Sticks: Accounting for Beginners	64	(4)
Numbers on Strings	68	(4)
Number, Value and Money	72	(5)
Number of Sumer	77	(14)
The Enigma of the Sexagesimal Base	91	(5)
The Development of Written Numerals in Elam and Mesopotamia	96	(13)
The Decipherment of a Five-thousand-year-old System	109	(12)
How the Sumerians Did Their Sums	121	(13)
Mesopotamian Numbering after the Eclipse of Sumer	134	(28)
The Numbers of Ancient Egypt	162	(16)
Counting in the Times of the Cretan and Hittite Kings	178	(4)
Greek and Roman Numerals	182	(30)
Letters and Numbers	212	(15)
The Invention of Alphabetic Numerals	227	(13)
Other Alphabetic Number-systems	240	(8)
Magic, Mysticism, Divination, and Other Secrets	248	(15)
The Numbers of Chinese Civilisation	263	(34)
The Amazing Achievements of the Maya	297	(26)
The Final Stage of Numerical Notation	323	(33)
Part I Indian Civilisation: the Cradle of Modern Numerals	356	(84)
Part II Dictionary of the Numeral Symbols of Indian Civilisation	440	(71)
Indian Numerals and Calculation in the Islamic World	511	(66)
The Slow Progress of Indo-Arabic Numerals in Western Europe	577	(15)
Beyond Perfection	592	(9)
Bibliography	601	(15)
Index of Names and Subjects	616