Come contare fino a infinito

An easy and entertaining read for the uninitiated to get a sense of what mathematicians know about infinity. You can easily get through the whole thing in less than half an hour, but hopefully the concepts will intrigue you for much longer.

Ci sono volte in cui Stefano ed io restiamo a parlare, nella penombra della sera, nella calma di una giornata che finalmente rallenta e ci lascia tempo per noi. E a volte, anche dopo anni, lui mi dice: "ti voglio un bene infinito." E io gli rispondo "e io ti voglio un bene infinito +1", E lui ride, escla Leggi tutto

I normally really enjoy Marcus du Dautoy, but I found this a bit of a let down. Perhaps because it was trying to fit into the format of this series, it never really came together and I was left feeling unsatisfied. There were some nice analogies and the history of irrational numbers was fun but desp Leggi tutto

Es un imperdible para quienes gustan del asombro por las matemáticas o bien para inducir a quiénes siempre han sentido curiosidad por los números. Un viaje impecable hacia el vasto universo de los números, recomendado para niños de corta, mediana y de longeva edad. Es un sin duda, una invitación a des Leggi tutto

Elin sa att det såg ut som en barnbok, och det visade sig vara hyfsat sant. Sista kapitlet hade dock hjälpt mig med två av frågorna på ett seminarium om abstrakt algebra idag. Det måste ju ändå betyda något?

Zeer toegankelijk uitgelegd dat er verschillende soorten oneindigheden zijn, waarbij natuurlijk een uitstapje met een overnachting in het Hilbert Hotel hoort, waarop je je niet te vroeg moet verheugen want je weet je kamernummer nog niet ;-)

Me gustó la manera en que Du Sautoy explica el problema del Hotel Infinito de Cantor. Si alguien busca una explicación más visual, puede buscar "Hotel Infinito Veritasium" en Youtube y dará con una alternativa magnífica.

A short but well written introduction to a tricky mathematical concept. It takes you from A to B without any tangents to complicate things and I came away with a good understanding and an appreciation for the subtlety of infinity