Infinite Powers : How calculus reveals the secrets of the universe
/ Steven Strogatz
- Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019
- 1 online resource (xxiv, 360 pages) : illustrations
includes index
Infinity -- The man who harnessed infinity -- Discovering the laws of motion -- The dawn of differential calculus -- The crossroads -- The vocabulary of change -- The secret fountain -- Fictions of the mind -- The logical universe -- Making waves -- The future of calculus.
This is the captivating story of mathematics' greatest ever idea: calculus. Without it, there would be no computers, no microwave ovens, no GPS, and no space travel. But before it gave modern man almost infinite powers, calculus was behind centuries of controversy, competition, and even death. Taking us on a thrilling journey through three millennia, professor Steven Strogatz charts the development of this seminal achievement from the days of Aristotle to today's million-dollar reward that awaits whoever cracks Reimann's hypothesis. Filled with idiosyncratic characters from Pythagoras to Euler, Infinite Powers is a compelling human drama that reveals the legacy of calculus on nearly every aspect of modern civilization, including science, politics, ethics, philosophy, and much besides.