Russian / Russia
Matematika. Istorija idej i otkrytij
(Matematika. Istoriya idei i otkrytiy)
(Mathematics: History of ideas)
Astrina, Marija
(Astrina, Mariya)
(text)
Rybakov, Iosif
(text)
Jaskina, Natal’ja
(Yaskina, Natalya)
(illus.)
Moskva: Peškom v Istoriju (Peshkom v Istoriyu), [2018]. – 158 p.
(Series: Mir vokrug nas)
ISBN 978-5-905474-81-1
Mathematics | History of ideas | Non-fiction
Reading age: 11+
White Ravens issue: 2019
This book makes up for suffering endured in maths class! “Matematika” succeeds in presenting mathematics as a great fascination. Basic mathematical understanding is very useful for reading the book, but splendid “Aha!” moments await even arithmetic novices. For instance, it’s exciting to learn why and how people even started to count, that there are different ways to count, and that “zero” first had to be discovered. “Matematika” conveys philosophical and astronomical considerations and mathematical discoveries in Egypt, Greece, and China, up to maths’ division into sub-fields (geometry, algebra, topology, etc.). Ptolemy, Euler, and Galileo are introduced, too, along with mathematical delights like the Fibonacci sequence or complex mathematical Millennium problems (such as the Poincaré conjecture). Enlightening illustrations accompany the text and whet one’s appetite to spend more time with maths.