Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Charles Seife

Penguin Group USA, 2000 - Biography & Autobiography - 248 pages

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time, the quest for the theory of everything. Line illustrations.

What people are saying

Review: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

User Review  - Kathleen Brugger - Goodreads

This book covers mathematics, history, philosophy, the history of science, and quantum physics. An interesting observation I learned from this book: the next time someone calls you “a zero” or you ...

Review: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

User Review  - Jeremy - Goodreads

You probably know that there are an infinite number of numbers. But did you realize that between zero and one there are an infinite number of numbers? That's right, there is an infinity between any ...

About the author

Charles Seife, a journalist with Science magazine, has also written for New Scientist, Scientific American, The Economist, Wired UK, and The Sciences, among many other publications. His previous titles include Alpha & Omega and Zero. He received an MS in Probability Theory and Artificial Intelligence from Yale.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea; A New York Times Notable Book
• Author: Charles Seife
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA, 2000
• ISBN: 0140296476, 9780140296471
• Length: 248 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Literary; Mathematics / Arithmetic; Mathematics / History & Philosophy; Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects