Description

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Did you grow up thinking math is boring? It’s time to reconsider. This book will teach you everything you ever wondered about numbers—and more.

How and why did human beings first start using numbers at the dawn of history? Would numbers exist if we Homo sapiens weren’t around to discover them? What’s so special about weird numbers like pi and the Fibonacci sequence? What about rational, irrational, real, and imaginary numbers? Why do we need them?

Two veteran math educators explain it all in ways even the most math phobic will find appealing and understandable. 

You’ll never look at those squiggles on your calculator the same again.

About the Author

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Alfred S. Posamentier is dean of the School of Education and professor of mathematics education at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Previously, he had the same positions at the City College of the City University of New York for forty years.  He has published over fifty-five books in the area of mathematics and mathematics education, including, most recently, Mathematical Curiosities: A Treasure Trove of Unexpected Entertainments (with Ingmar Lehmann). 

Bernd Thaller is associate professor for applied mathematics at the Institute for Mathematics and Scientific Computing at the University of Graz in Austria. He is the author or coauthor of four books in mathematics.

Praise For…

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“Offers an incredible variety of number facts and oddities, showing there can be lots of fun in mathematics. Be prepared to enjoy yourself.”

—Charlotte K. Frank, Phd, senior advisor, McGraw-Hill Education, former director of curriculum and instruction, New York City Board of Education, and regent emerita, University of the State of New York
 
“Numbers takes the reader from elementary number theory through the psychological theories of Piaget to the subtleties of brain development, numbers in history, and some of the arcane properties of numbers. . . . Comprehensive and enticing. There is much to learn here for everyone.”

—Harold Levy, executive director, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and former chancellor, New York City public schools
 
“Finally, we have a book that tells how numbers were developed in ancient cultures and how they evolved into the many ways numbers are used today. Wonderful entertainment!”

—Harry Phillips III, regent emeritus, University of the State of New York
 
“A delightful ramble through the topic of numbers, from the beginning question, ‘What is a number?’ through the general question, ‘Why is mathematics so useful?’ . . . A pleasant read for anyone.”

—David Singmaster, Phd, professor of mathematics, retired, London South Bank University and University College–London
 
“Posamentier and Thaller are gifted writers, and their wonderful book can serve as a means of motivating even the most reluctant learner to study numbers. In a unique and magnificent way, Numbers is accessible . . . and certainly will be appreciated by a vast number of readers.”

—Rudolf Taschner, phd, professor of mathematics, Vienna University of Technology, and Austrian Scientist of the Year, 2004
 
“A wonderful book. . . . Even the most well-informed readers will find something here that they did not already know. [Numbers] is . . . especially well suited for anyone who may not already know a lot of mathematics but is open to being charmed and fascinated by the history and cultural significance of numbers, as well as their myriad strange and unexpected properties.”

—Robert Geretschläger, phd, Austrian International Mathematical Olympiad team leader and author of Geometric Origami