Synopsis
This book is a concise history of the use and interpretation of time, written by one of the foremost medievalists in Europe today.
Arno Borst examines the various ways that time has been calculated by numbers and measured by instruments over several centuries, from the computus--an ancient method of determining times and dates--to the present-day computer. In a wide-ranging discussion, he analyzes the classical Greek concepts of divine, natural, and human time; the universal time of ancient Rome; the Easter cycle of the Middle Ages; the development of the mechanical clock in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; early modern chronology; and twentieth-century data processing.
Borst argues that although many centuries and countless different instruments--sundials, horologia, abaci, astrolabes, calendars, and calculating machines--separate the medieval computus from the modern computer, each generation has had to answer the same question: how can we make the best use of our available time to improve our lives? The computer, he suggests, is merely a new instrument employed for an ancient purpose.
Lively and accessible, The Ordering of Time will be welcomed by students and researchers in social and cultural history, the history of science and mathematics, as well as anyone interested in the history of time and numbers.
Arno Borst examines the various ways that time has been calculated by numbers and measured by instruments over several centuries, from the computus--an ancient method of determining times and dates--to the present-day computer. In a wide-ranging discussion, he analyzes the classical Greek concepts of divine, natural, and human time; the universal time of ancient Rome; the Easter cycle of the Middle Ages; the development of the mechanical clock in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; early modern chronology; and twentieth-century data processing.
Borst argues that although many centuries and countless different instruments--sundials, horologia, abaci, astrolabes, calendars, and calculating machines--separate the medieval computus from the modern computer, each generation has had to answer the same question: how can we make the best use of our available time to improve our lives? The computer, he suggests, is merely a new instrument employed for an ancient purpose.
Lively and accessible, The Ordering of Time will be welcomed by students and researchers in social and cultural history, the history of science and mathematics, as well as anyone interested in the history of time and numbers.
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Review
′ The Ordering of Time is a good piece of work.′ Times Higher Education Supplement
About the Author
Arno Borst is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Konstanz in Germany. Borst′s previous books include Medieval Worlds (Polity, 1992).
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Search results for Borst: Ordering of Time (Paper)
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The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computus to the Modern Computer
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1994
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
Used
Softcover
Seller: Bay State Book Company, North Smithfield, RI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact, including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting, and there might be a "From the library of" label. Boxed set packaging, shrink wrap, or included media like CDs may be missing. Seller Inventory # BSM.14QEK
Seller Image
The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computus to the Modern Computer
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1994
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
Used
Softcover
Seller: Bay State Book Company, North Smithfield, RI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact, including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting, and there might be a "From the library of" label. Boxed set packaging, shrink wrap, or included media like CDs may be missing. Seller Inventory # BSM.14TMC
Stock Image
The Ordering of Time: From the Ancient Computers to the Modern Computer
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1993
ISBN 10: 0226066592
ISBN 13: 9780226066592
Used
Softcover
Seller: Ilium Books, Somerville, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Near Fine. The University of Chicago Press, (1993). ix, 168 p. Sewn Paperbound. Very slight shelfwear to the covers. Interior pages are clean and there are no creases on the spine. Near Fine. Seller Inventory # 1481