One Two Three . . . Infinity
Facts and Speculations of Science
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3.8 • 5 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
". . . full of intellectual treats and tricks, of whimsy and deep scientific philosophy. It is highbrow entertainment at its best, a teasing challenge to all who aspire to think about the universe." — New York Herald Tribune
One of the world's foremost nuclear physicists (celebrated for his theory of radioactive decay, among other accomplishments), George Gamow possessed the unique ability of making the world of science accessible to the general reader.
He brings that ability to bear in this delightful expedition through the problems, pleasures, and puzzles of modern science. Among the topics scrutinized with the author's celebrated good humor and pedagogical prowess are the macrocosm and the microcosm, theory of numbers, relativity of space and time, entropy, genes, atomic structure, nuclear fission, and the origin of the solar system.
In the pages of this book readers grapple with such crucial matters as whether it is possible to bend space, why a rocket shrinks, the "end of the world problem," excursions into the fourth dimension, and a host of other tantalizing topics for the scientifically curious. Brimming with amusing anecdotes and provocative problems, One Two Three . . . Infinity also includes over 120 delightful pen-and-ink illustrations by the author, adding another dimension of good-natured charm to these wide-ranging explorations.
Whatever your level of scientific expertise, chances are you'll derive a great deal of pleasure, stimulation, and information from this unusual and imaginative book. It belongs in the library of anyone curious about the wonders of the scientific universe. "In One Two Three . . . Infinity, as in his other books, George Gamow succeeds where others fail because of his remarkable ability to combine technical accuracy, choice of material, dignity of expression, and readability." — Saturday Review of Literature
Customer Reviews
Content is great, digitization is not
This is a fantastic book that I first read over 30 years ago. It brings complex ideas within the grasp of mere mortals. It is also highly entertaining. I would never hesitate to recommend this book. It I’d a 5 star+ book. That said, the digital representation in iBooks is flawed and had no critical proof reading.
The famous Pythagorean theorem, written in print as x^2 + y^2 = z^2 (leading up to Fermat’s last theorem) is written as x^13 + y^13 = z^13 where 13 appears to be a footnote (it is a link). I can only imagine the digitization assumed it was footnote 2 on the current page which became global footnote 13. This is not the only instance of this. Reader beware (and if you don’t already know the right formula, you will likely be very confused). In these cases it at least gives some clue in that the exponent is blue and links to a footnote that helps deduce what should have been there. But then there was the statement i^Z = -1. Of course, this should be i^2 = -1. Apparently the digitizer decided the 2 looked more like a Z.
I wish one could rate the quality of contents and thought (5) vs the quality of reproduction (2), as I don’t want to rate Gamow’s work below a 5, but alas, such subtleties are lost in the data driven age which takes any N dimensional problem and believes it can be represented with a single dimensional number.
The delicious irony that is not lost on me is that as this book explains, aleph0^N is in fact the same as aleph0! Too bad it doesn’t apply apply to finite problems, however.