Beyond Infinity: An expedition to the outer limits of the mathematical universe - Softcover

Cheng, Eugenia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1781252858 ISBN 13: 9781781252857

Publisher: Profile Books, 2017

Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

Even small children know there are infinitely many whole numbers - start counting and you'll never reach the end. But there are also infinitely many decimal numbers between zero and one. Are these two types of infinity the same? Are they larger or smaller than each other? Can we even talk about 'larger' and 'smaller' when we talk about infinity? In Beyond Infinity, international maths sensation Eugenia Cheng reveals the inner workings of infinity.

What happens when a new guest arrives at your infinite hotel - but you already have an infinite number of guests? How does infinity give Zeno's tortoise the edge in a paradoxical foot-race with Achilles? And can we really make an infinite number of cookies from a finite amount of cookie dough?

Wielding an armoury of inventive, intuitive metaphor, Cheng draws beginners and enthusiasts alike into the heart of this mysterious, powerful concept to reveal fundamental truths about mathematics, all the way from the infinitely large down to the infinitely small.

About this title

About the Author

Eugenia Cheng is a Pure Mathematician, Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Honorary Visiting Fellow of Pure Mathematics at City, University of London. A Cambridge graduate, she previously taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Chicago and Nice. She is also a concert pianist, fluent in French, and the author of several bestsellers, including How to Bake Pi and x + y.

Edition details

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781252858
• ISBN 13: 9781781252857
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304