A Brief History of Mathematics
Complete Series
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Narrated by:
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Marcus du Sautoy
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By:
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Marcus du Sautoy
About this listen
This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.
He explores the relationship between Newton and Leibniz, the men behind the calculus; looks at how the mathematics that Euler invented 200 years ago paved the way for the internet and discovers how Fourier transformed our understanding of heat, light and sound. In addition, he finds out how Galois' mathematics describes the particles that make up our universe, how Gaussian distribution underpins modern medicine, and how Riemann's maths helped Einstein with his theory of relativity. Finally, he introduces Cantor, who discovered infinite numbers; Poincaré, whose work gave rise to chaos theory; G.H. Hardy, whose work inspired the millions of codes that help to keep the internet safe, and Nicolas Bourbaki, the mathematician who never was.
The BBC Radio 4 series looking at the people who shaped modern mathematics, written and presented by Marcus du Sautoy.
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Story
Aubrey Clayton traces the history of how statistics went astray, beginning with the groundbreaking work of the 17th-century mathematician Jacob Bernoulli and winding through gambling, astronomy, and genetics. Clayton recounts the feuds among rival schools of statistics, exploring the surprisingly human problems that gave rise to the discipline and the all-too-human shortcomings that derailed it.
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Rigorously Bayesian
- By Anonymous User on 01-25-22
By: Aubrey Clayton
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Math Without Numbers
- By: Milo Beckman
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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This is an audiobook about math, but it contains no numbers. Math Without Numbers is a vivid, conversational, and wholly original guide to the three main branches of abstract math - topology, analysis, and algebra - which turn out to be surprisingly easy to grasp. This audiobook upends the conventional approach to math, inviting you to think creatively about shape and dimension, the infinite and infinitesimal, symmetries, proofs, and how these concepts all fit together. Join this freewheeling tour of the inimitable joys and unsolved mysteries of this curiously powerful subject.
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please leave your politics at home
- By david malaguti on 09-23-23
By: Milo Beckman
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Not written to be read aloud
- By A Reader in Maine on 02-21-20
By: Steven Strogatz
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Once upon a Prime
- The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature
- By: Sarah Hart
- Narrated by: Sarah Hart
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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We often think of mathematics and literature as polar opposites. But what if, instead, they were fundamentally linked? In her clear, insightful, laugh-out-loud funny debut, Once Upon a Prime, Professor Sarah Hart shows us the myriad connections between math and literature, and how understanding those connections can enhance our enjoyment of both. As the first woman to hold England’s oldest mathematical chair, Professor Hart is the ideal tour guide, taking us on an unforgettable journey through the books we thought we knew, revealing new layers of beauty and wonder.
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The Infinite Review
- By LCorSMT on 04-26-23
By: Sarah Hart
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The Prime Number Conspiracy
- The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta
- By: Thomas Lin - editor, James Gleick - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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These stories from Quanta Magazine map the routes of mathematical exploration, showing listeners how cutting-edge research is done, while illuminating the productive tension between conjecture and proof, theory and intuition. Listeners of The Prime Number Conspiracy are headed on "breathtaking intellectual journeys to the bleeding edge of discovery strapped to the narrative rocket of humanity's never-ending pursuit of knowledge," says Quanta editor-in-chief Thomas Lin.
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Better [more relevant] than you might expect.
- By James S. on 09-30-19
By: Thomas Lin - editor, and others
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A Mind for Numbers
- How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)
- By: Barbara Oakley PhD
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to learning effectively - secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they’d known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that there’s only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a number of different solutions - you just need the creativity to see them.
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Not quite what you expect
- By Sean P Ruggier on 07-20-22
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Our Mathematical Universe
- My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
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Wow!
- By Michael on 02-02-14
By: Max Tegmark
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The Great Unknown
- Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever since the dawn of civilization, we have been driven by a desire to know - to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? Are some things simply beyond the predictive powers of science? Or are those challenges the next big discovery waiting to happen?
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Science Museum in a Book (this is a compliment :)
- By Mike on 04-26-17
By: Marcus du Sautoy
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The Secret Lives of Numbers
- A Hidden History of Math’s Unsung Trailblazers
- By: Kate Kitagawa, Timothy Revell
- Narrated by: Daphne Kouma
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Mathematics shapes almost everything we do. But despite its reputation as the study of fundamental truths, the stories we have been told about it are wrong—warped like the sixteenth-century map that enlarged Europe at the expense of Africa, Asia and the Americas. In The Secret Lives of Numbers, renowned math historian Kate Kitagawa and journalist Timothy Revell make the case that the history of math is infinitely deeper, broader, and richer than the narrative we think we know.
By: Kate Kitagawa, and others
What listeners say about A Brief History of Mathematics
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kiaf
- 08-22-24
The shoulders of mathematicians
Excellent narration. A quick understanding of mathematicians after Newton but before the second world war. Around Germany, Britain, and France. Plus India.
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- Michael Sisson
- 07-27-22
Wonderful
I loved the topic have always loved math, quite I defeating to learn of the men that created it. Wish there was another series.
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- Brother Bear
- 04-18-24
Short & Sweet!
Brief summaries of past giants in mathematics, and examples of their works and its importance in the sciences.
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- G. Fivas
- 02-17-23
A pleasing overview
I found this audiobook to be a pleasing overview of the historical development of mathematics.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-26-24
Brief but informative
Recommend, light book, very enthusiastic author, interestingly tells story of complicated topics without going into details.
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- geckogal
- 10-10-20
Sautoy is a Great Math Story Teller
I can spend hours listening to Dr. Marcus du Sautoy describe complex Math ideas, and I do. He has the knack of describe complex with everyday metaphors. Unfortunately, Sautoy is only looking at European mathematicians since Galileo. I am sure that other world cultures had important math breakthroughs during this time.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-01-23
Just give it a listen!
If you want to fall in love without math this is the book. Personally I plan on releasing to it again. Only problem being there should be a video accompanying it but I don’t think it takes much away from just how interesting math is. The narrator did a fantastic job and definitely keeps the story intriguing and I didn’t think i could say this about a book on math but I almost listened to it in one sitting because of how it stays interesting.
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- Dr. Robert Puff
- 12-19-20
Superb
Excellent. Another wonderful read on the history of mathematics. Dr. du Sautoy is an excellent communicator.
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- A. Toomey
- 06-27-22
A History... Starting with Calculus
I'm pleased to report, given the short length, this book does not cover the entire history of mathematics, but instead starts at the concepts which became calculus and moves forward chronologically from there. It covers a wide range of concepts and includes interesting stories of the mathematicians involved. The author is very expressive and easy to listen to. The examples are well explained and clear to understand even for those not initiated into the particular theory. There are numerous real-world connections presented of how the concepts are used in our day to day lives.
My one complaint is the repeated "title card" playing throughout. This is clearly due to the fact it was originally presented in another, episodic, format. This could have been removed in editing before being presented as a single audiobook without any loss of information and the individual episodes split into "Chapters" for those who wish easier navigation.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-03-22
Excellent!
This was to come by and get your period I truly enjoyed listening to the entire thing. Wish there was more to listen to.
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