Copyright Date:
2011
Edition Date:
2011
Release Date:
05/01/11
Pages:
xx, 217 pages
ISBN:
0-8160-7945-5
ISBN 13:
978-0-8160-7945-2
Dewey:
516
LCCN:
2010023887
Dimensions:
24 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
School Library Journal
(Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2012)
Gr 9 Up-An ideal resource for serious students who would like to deepen their knowledge of geometry and its history. The first few chapters offer background information on the prehistory of topology to provide context for the basic concepts of set-theoretic topology. Critical discoveries of ancient figures, including Euclid, lay the framework for more-current discoveries. Next comes an overview of the rapid advancement of topology, including a discussion of nationalism and some of the geographical areas that were centers for research and discovery. The book concludes with discussions of some of the applications of topology. Color photographs appear throughout. The dense text includes examples of mathematical formulas. The explanations are clear, but would be best appreciated by students of geometry. An afterword presents an interview with Professor Scott Williams on the nature of topology and the goals of topological research. The book concludes with a chronology that begins with the use of hieroglyphic numerals in Egypt in ca. 3,000 B.C.E. and ends with the death of Henri Cartan, one of the founding members of the Nicolas Bourbaki group, in 2008. This volume would be a useful addition to public libraries and school libraries, especially those with a strong mathematics program. Maren Ostergard, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA
Bibliography Index/Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
For millennia, Euclidean geometry, the geometry of the ancient Greeks, set the standard for rigor in mathematics--it was the only branch of mathematics that had been developed axiomatically, or based on a system of axioms. This form of geometry was the language of mathematics. But early in the 19th century, mathematicians developed geometries very different from Euclid's simply by choosing axioms different from those used by Euclid. These new geometries were internally consistent in the sense that mathematicians could find no theorems arising within these geometries that could be proven both true and false.Beyond Geometry describes how set-theoretic topology developed and why it now occupies a central place in mathematics. Describing axiomatic method as well as providing a definition of what a geometric property is, this new resource examines how early analysts incorporated geometric thinking into their development of the calculus. It also looks at the various mathematicians who struggled to develop a new conceptual framework for mathematics and examines one of the sub-disciplines of set-theoretic topology called dimension theory.
Excerpted from Beyond Geometry by John Tabak
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
The History of Mathematics is a six-volume set that examines the development of the science through discovery, innovation, collaboration, and experimentation. Designed to complement mathematics curricula, each volume covers a significant development in recent mathematical history as well as the subject's origins. The books represent a fascinating overview of the contributions that mathematical research has made to the physical world. Beyond Geometry examines topology, a major branch of mathematics concerned with the presentation of spatial properties under continuous deformations, such as stretching, from its inception in the early 19th century to today. Throughout history, Euclidean geometry was the accepted language of mathematics, but as mathematicians began to see its limitations, new theorems were tested that evolved into this new branch of mathematics. The book gives a straightforward overview of the rapid advancement of topology and explains such subsets of set-theoretic topology as dimension theory. It also includes an exclusive interview with Dr. Scott Williams, a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Buffalo, who discusses the contributions and goals of this innovative field of mathematics. The volume includes information on dimension history of topology the Hausdorff dimension limitations of geometry the Moore method set theory the standard axioms topological spaces The book contains 30 color photographs and four-color line illustrations, sidebars, a chronology, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Internet resources, and an index. The History of Mathematics is essential for high school students, teachers, and general readers who wish to understand the contributions of the major branches of mathematics. Book jacket.