{"product_id":"finding-zero-a-mathematicians-odyssey-to-uncover-the-origins-of-numbers","title":"Finding Zero - A Mathematician's Odyssey To Uncover The Origins Of Numbers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe invention of numerals is perhaps the greatest abstraction the human\u003cbr\u003emind has ever created. Virtually everything in our lives is digital,\u003cbr\u003enumerical, or quantified. The story of how and where we got these numerals,\u003cbr\u003ewhich we so depend on, has for thousands of years been shrouded in mystery.\u003cbr\u003eFinding Zero is an adventure filled saga of Amir Aczel's lifelong\u003cbr\u003eobsession: to find the original sources of our numerals. Aczel has doggedly\u003cbr\u003ecrisscrossed the ancient world, scouring dusty, moldy texts, cross\u003cbr\u003eexamining so-called scholars who offered wildly differing sets of facts,\u003cbr\u003eand ultimately penetrating deep into a Cambodian jungle to find a\u003cbr\u003edefinitive proof. Here, he takes the reader along for the ride. The history\u003cbr\u003ebegins with the early Babylonian cuneiform numbers, followed by the later\u003cbr\u003eGreek and Roman letter numerals. Then Aczel asks the key question: where do\u003cbr\u003ethe numbers we use today, the so-called Hindu-Arabic numerals, come from?\u003cbr\u003eIt is this search that leads him to explore uncharted territory, to go on a\u003cbr\u003egrand quest into India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and ultimately into the\u003cbr\u003ewilds of Cambodia. There he is blown away to find the earliest zero—the\u003cbr\u003ekeystone of our entire system of numbers—on a crumbling, vine-covered wall\u003cbr\u003eof a seventh-century temple adorned with eaten-away erotic sculptures.\u003cbr\u003eWhile on this odyssey, Aczel meets a host of fascinating characters:\u003cbr\u003eacademics in search of truth, jungle trekkers looking for adventure,\u003cbr\u003esurprisingly honest politicians, shameless smugglers, and treacherous\u003cbr\u003earchaeological thieves—who finally reveal where our numbers come from.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Amir D. Aczel\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: St. Martin's Griffin\u003cbr\u003ePublication Date: 2016\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Thryft Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Like New","offer_id":39960251236433,"sku":"QA141.2","price":15.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":39960251269201,"sku":"QA141.2","price":15.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Good","offer_id":39960251301969,"sku":"QA141.2","price":15.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Well Read","offer_id":39960251334737,"sku":"QA141.2","price":15.0,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/0598\/4849\/products\/content_e23f2916-3cfc-4059-af3b-aa4f3317ba09.jpg?v=1717753569","url":"https:\/\/thryft.my\/products\/finding-zero-a-mathematicians-odyssey-to-uncover-the-origins-of-numbers","provider":"Thryft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}