The Story of Mathematics: in 24 Equations
Dana Mackenzie
You can’t present the history of art without pictures; equally equations are central to any history of mathematics.
Spanning 4,000 years of civilisation, The Story of Mathematics describes twenty -four great equations that have shaped science and society – from the elementary (1+1=2) to the sophisticated (the Black -Scholes formula) and from the famous (E=mc2) to the arcane (Hamilton’s quaternion equations). This is a tale of genius, drama and beauty brought vividly to life in a compelli ng narrative by Dana Mackenzie and at the same time he tells us why these equations have something timeless to say about the universe.
Dana Mackenzie earned his doctorate from Princeton, taught mathematics for six years at Duke University and then seven years at Kenyon College in Ohio. His first book - The Big Splat, or How Our Moon Came to Be was named as an Editor’s Choice for 2003 by Booklist, the American Library Association magazine. In 2007 Dana collaborated with two geologists on the textbook Visualizing Geology (Wiley), and he has also written What’s Happening in the Mathematical Sciences. He has also written for American Scientist, Discover, Smithsonian, Science, and New Scientist, amongst others; and has served as writer in residence at the Mathematical Sciences Research In stitute in Berkeley, California.