A Brief History of Mathematics
Complete Series
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Narrated by:
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Marcus du Sautoy
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By:
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Marcus du Sautoy
About this listen
This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.
He explores the relationship between Newton and Leibniz, the men behind the calculus; looks at how the mathematics that Euler invented 200 years ago paved the way for the internet and discovers how Fourier transformed our understanding of heat, light and sound. In addition, he finds out how Galois' mathematics describes the particles that make up our universe, how Gaussian distribution underpins modern medicine, and how Riemann's maths helped Einstein with his theory of relativity. Finally, he introduces Cantor, who discovered infinite numbers; Poincaré, whose work gave rise to chaos theory; G.H. Hardy, whose work inspired the millions of codes that help to keep the internet safe, and Nicolas Bourbaki, the mathematician who never was.
The BBC Radio 4 series looking at the people who shaped modern mathematics, written and presented by Marcus du Sautoy.
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Story
Aubrey Clayton traces the history of how statistics went astray, beginning with the groundbreaking work of the 17th-century mathematician Jacob Bernoulli and winding through gambling, astronomy, and genetics. Clayton recounts the feuds among rival schools of statistics, exploring the surprisingly human problems that gave rise to the discipline and the all-too-human shortcomings that derailed it.
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Rigorously Bayesian
- By Anonymous User on 01-25-22
By: Aubrey Clayton
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Not written to be read aloud
- By A Reader in Maine on 02-21-20
By: Steven Strogatz
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The Great Unknown
- Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever since the dawn of civilization, we have been driven by a desire to know - to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? Are some things simply beyond the predictive powers of science? Or are those challenges the next big discovery waiting to happen?
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Science Museum in a Book (this is a compliment :)
- By Mike on 04-26-17
By: Marcus du Sautoy
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The Creativity Code
- Art and Innovation in the Age of AI
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Rich Keeble
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Can a well-programmed machine do anything a human can - only better? Complex algorithms are buying our groceries, picking our partners, and driving our investments. They can navigate more data than a doctor or lawyer and act with greater precision. For many years we've taken solace in the notion that they can't create. But now that algorithms can learn and adapt, does the future of creativity belong to machines too?
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One of the best books I've ever listened to
- By nonrachitect on 12-10-20
By: Marcus du Sautoy
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The Universe Speaks in Numbers
- How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: Hugh Kermode
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the great insights of science is that the universe has an underlying order. The supreme goal of physicists is to understand this order through laws that describe the behavior of the most basic particles and the forces between them. For centuries, we have searched for these laws by studying the results of experiments. Since the 1970s, however, experiments at the world's most powerful atom-smashers have offered few new clues. So some of the world's leading physicists have looked to a different source of insight: modern mathematics.
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Great story and narration, but lacks rigor...
- By James S. on 05-31-19
By: Graham Farmelo
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Change Is the Only Constant
- The Wisdom of Calculus in a Madcap World
- By: Ben Orlin
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Change Is the Only Constant is an engaging and eloquent exploration of the intersection between calculus and daily life, complete with Orlin's sly humor and wonderfully bad drawings.
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I WANT MORE MATH
- By Jim Field on 03-07-24
By: Ben Orlin
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Math-ish
- Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics
- By: Jo Boaler
- Narrated by: Jo Boaler
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Mathematics is a fundamental part of life, yet every one of us has a unique relationship with learning and understanding the subject. Working with numbers may inspire confidence in our abilities or provoke anxiety and trepidation. Stanford researcher, mathematics education professor, and the leading expert on math learning Dr. Jo Boaler argues that our differences are the key to unlocking our greatest mathematics potential.
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great book
- By Alena Vesela on 09-11-24
By: Jo Boaler
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Math for Programmers
- 3D Graphics, Machine Learning, and Simulations with Python
- By: Paul Orland
- Narrated by: Derek Lettman
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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To score a job in data science, machine learning, computer graphics, and cryptography, you need to bring strong math skills to the party. Math for Programmers teaches the math you need for these hot careers, concentrating on what you need to know as a developer. Filled with lots of helpful graphics and more than 200 exercises and mini-projects, this book unlocks the door to interesting - and lucrative! - careers in some of today’s hottest programming fields about the technology.
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Not useful because there are no chapters :(
- By Katherine Snow on 06-08-22
By: Paul Orland
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11 Effective Strategies for Teaching Math to Students Who Have Given Up on Learning
- By: Jordan Smith Jr Ed. D.
- Narrated by: Ashley Hudson
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Math has certainly gotten a bad reputation for being a subject that involves endless calculations and problems that will never be used in the real world, especially now that we all walk around with calculators in our pockets! But the fact is that math is required in multiple areas of an adult’s life, from preparing recipes to managing finances, and that’s without a career in STEM.
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Revitalize Math Learning
- By Drake on 07-14-24
What listeners say about A Brief History of Mathematics
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kiaf
- 08-22-24
The shoulders of mathematicians
Excellent narration. A quick understanding of mathematicians after Newton but before the second world war. Around Germany, Britain, and France. Plus India.
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- Michael Sisson
- 07-27-22
Wonderful
I loved the topic have always loved math, quite I defeating to learn of the men that created it. Wish there was another series.
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- Brother Bear
- 04-18-24
Short & Sweet!
Brief summaries of past giants in mathematics, and examples of their works and its importance in the sciences.
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- G. Fivas
- 02-17-23
A pleasing overview
I found this audiobook to be a pleasing overview of the historical development of mathematics.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-26-24
Brief but informative
Recommend, light book, very enthusiastic author, interestingly tells story of complicated topics without going into details.
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- geckogal
- 10-10-20
Sautoy is a Great Math Story Teller
I can spend hours listening to Dr. Marcus du Sautoy describe complex Math ideas, and I do. He has the knack of describe complex with everyday metaphors. Unfortunately, Sautoy is only looking at European mathematicians since Galileo. I am sure that other world cultures had important math breakthroughs during this time.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-01-23
Just give it a listen!
If you want to fall in love without math this is the book. Personally I plan on releasing to it again. Only problem being there should be a video accompanying it but I don’t think it takes much away from just how interesting math is. The narrator did a fantastic job and definitely keeps the story intriguing and I didn’t think i could say this about a book on math but I almost listened to it in one sitting because of how it stays interesting.
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- Dr. Robert Puff
- 12-19-20
Superb
Excellent. Another wonderful read on the history of mathematics. Dr. du Sautoy is an excellent communicator.
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- A. Toomey
- 06-27-22
A History... Starting with Calculus
I'm pleased to report, given the short length, this book does not cover the entire history of mathematics, but instead starts at the concepts which became calculus and moves forward chronologically from there. It covers a wide range of concepts and includes interesting stories of the mathematicians involved. The author is very expressive and easy to listen to. The examples are well explained and clear to understand even for those not initiated into the particular theory. There are numerous real-world connections presented of how the concepts are used in our day to day lives.
My one complaint is the repeated "title card" playing throughout. This is clearly due to the fact it was originally presented in another, episodic, format. This could have been removed in editing before being presented as a single audiobook without any loss of information and the individual episodes split into "Chapters" for those who wish easier navigation.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-03-22
Excellent!
This was to come by and get your period I truly enjoyed listening to the entire thing. Wish there was more to listen to.
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