Hossein Nasr, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA; Susantha Goonatilake, United Nations, New York, USA The Encyclopaedia fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. Reference works on other cultures tend either to omit science completely or pay little attention to it and those on the history of science almost always start with the Greeks, with perhaps a mention of the Islamic world as a translator of Greek scientific works. The purpose of the Encyclopaedia was to bring together knowledge of many disparate fields in one place and to legitimize the study of other cultures' science. The aim was not to claim the superiority of other cultures, but to engage in a mutual exchange of ideas. The western academic divisions of science, technology, and medicine have been united in the Encyclopaedia because in ancient cultures these disciplines were connected. This Work contributes to redressing the balance in the number of reference works devoted to the study of Western science, and encourages awareness of cultural diversity. The Encyclopaedia is the first compilation of this sort, and it is testimony both to the earlier eurocentric view of academia as well as to the widened vision we tend to nowadays. There is nothing that crosses disciplinary and geographic boundaries, dealing with both scientific and philosophical issues to the extent that this workdoes.The Encyclopaedia contains almost 600 entries dealing in depth with the history of the scientific, technological accomplishments of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. The geographic range is global, including native Americans. This unique reference work includes: Interc@~  (less)

world of natural numbers. From the earliest discoveries of the ancient Greeks to various fundamental characteristics of the natural number sequence, Clawson explains fascinating mathematical mysteries in clear and easy prose. He delves into the heart of number theory to see and understand the exquisite relationships among natural numbers, and ends by exploring the ultimate mystery of mathematics: the Riemann hypothesis, which says that through a point in a plane, no line can be drawn parallel to a given line.While a professional mathematician’s treatment of number theory involves the most sophisticated analytical tools, its basic ideas are surprisingly easy to comprehend. By concentrating on the meaning behind various equations and proofs and avoiding technical refinements,IMathematical Mysteries/Ilets the common reader catch a glimpse of this wonderful and exotic world./Div  (less)

the ambitious pioneers: Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton - who braved persecution and ridicule to fight for a science that relied not on ancient authorities and scriptures, but on logic, math, and careful observation. As Motz and Weaver show, the fruits of this noble pursuit - the elegant, simple natural laws - opened our eyes to the elusive rotations of the heavenly bodies, and gave rise to classical physics, and, finally, the vigorous, thriving science of astronomy today. These engaging authors go on to depict the brilliant revolution in astronomy that shattered classical physics and transformed our concepts of time, space, and matter. Beginning with Einstein's theory of relativity, Motz and Weaver celebrate and savor the twentieth century's greatest advances in physics, chemistry, and mathematics, each of which have dramatically reshaped modern astronomy./Div  (less)

and algebra, as well as more challenging geometry, calculus, and number theory. Writing in his always entertaining style, David Wells introduces such brain-tingling topics as the Konigsberg bridge problem, the Game of Life, cryptograms, Koch snowflakes, and Rabbi Moses' box. He even shows how simple math helped eighteenth-century military commanders figure out how many cannon balls their enemies had stacked up next to their cannons. From tidbits on the earliest mathematics of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks to the latest popular online mathematical games, You Are a Mathematician takes readers on a sometimes bizarre, always educational, and wildly entertaining journey.BR-- Contains over 100 stimulating brainteasers and challenging conundrums  (less)

as Richard Dawkings, Susan Greenfield, and John Gribbin, it presents 250 of the most significant milestones in the history of scientific discovery. Accompanying this unique perspective on our ever-evolving view of the universe are some of the most visually dramatic illustrations you'll ever see. Short, lucid articles focus on everything from the speculations of the ancient Greeks to today's Nobel Prize winners, from Ptolemy's theory of an earth-centered universe to the first steps on the moon, and from the dawning of the concept of zero to the cloning of Dolly the sheep. Biology, physics, astronomy, medicine and mathematics: the breakthroughs in every field are all here and celebrated, in the first truly accessible, fully illustrated story of science.br/div  (less)

a turtle. The Greeks viewed it as a sphere and measured it with astonishing accuracy. Today, scientists monitor it from space, detecting complex climate patterns that threaten our survival. Narrated by Patrick Stewart ( X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation ), this fascinating six-part series traces the history of mapmaking from crude clay tablets to sophisticated electronic screens. Internationally respected historians, NASA scientists, and other experts explain how humans rely on imagination, observation, and mathematics to create pictures that make sense of our world. Throughout history, maps have served as symbols of wealth and power, tools of conquest and subjugation, and instruments for saving lives. They once held information worth killing for, and now they offer clues ...  (less)

Egypt and Babylonia had, and they absorbed the experimental geometry of both of those cultures. Then they created the first formal mathematics of any kind by organizing geometry with rules of logic. Euclid's important geometry book The Elements formed the basis for most of the geometry studied in schools ever since.  (less)

Egypt and Babylonia had, and they absorbed the experimental geometry of both of those cultures. Then they created the first formal mathematics of any kind by organizing geometry with rules of logic. Euclid's important geometry book The Elements formed the basis for most of the geometry studied in schools ever since.  (less)

Egypt and Babylonia had, and they absorbed the experimental geometry of both of those cultures. Then they created the first formal mathematics of any kind by organizing geometry with rules of logic. Euclid's important geometry book The Elements formed the basis for most of the geometry studied in schools ever since.  (less)