Reviews from Amazon

The nothing that is

Although we use the number zero all of the time, and understand that it represents the concept of nothing, it has not always been that way. In this book Kaplan shows us how this idea came gradually, and sometimes met a lot of resistance. Starting with the Babylonians we see how it spread to Greece and to India, and how a placeholder notation eventually took root in western civilisation. The second half of the book moves away from history towards more literary and philosophical ideas of nothingness including mathematical questions such as the nature of infinitesimals.

Kaplan writes in a rather 'literary' style, which may be off-putting to those of you used to normal scientific writing. I found it rather irritating in the historical parts of the book, particularly that describing the development of mathematics in India. It was better for the description of Mayan mathematics, and the battle between Arabic and Roman numerals but I felt that the style was best suited to the later, philosophical part of the book. Overall, I would say that this is not really a book for those seeking specific information, but it is a interesting read, and introduces you to a wide variety of ideas.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 256 pages
ISBN: 0140279431
Salesrank: 3079466
Weight:0.38 lbs

Published: 2000 Penguin Books Ltd

Marketplace:New from $27.98:Used from $6.98

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 256 pages
ISBN: 0140279431
Salesrank: 590984
Weight:0.38 lbs

Published: 2000 Penguin Books Ltd

Marketplace:New from £2.47:Used from £0.66

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.ca info

Paperback 256 pages
ISBN: 0140279431
Salesrank:
Weight:0.38 lbs

Published: 2000 Penguin UK

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 242.66:Used from CDN$ 17.12

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Amazon.co.uk Review
On the face of it, the chances of a book about zero offering mind-stretching entertainment would seem to be about, well, zero. But in The Nothing That Is, Harvard University mathematician Robert Kaplan shows that there's a lot more to zero than meets the eye. Unlike the so-called natural numbers like one, two, three and so on, the origins of zero are incredibly hard to pin down. Humans seem to have done quite well without nothing for tens of thousands of years: not even the Greeks, the master mathematicians of the Ancient World, had a symbol for zero. Or did they? Among the many delights of this book is the way Kaplan reveals the twists and turns in the story of the origin of the symbol for zero and his own suggested resolution of the mystery. The struggle to do things with zero, such as divide it into other numbers, or use it as the ultimate fine-divider of other numbers--the key idea in the calculus--are brought alive by Kaplan, though without ever resorting to more than simple school algebra. His writing style does sometimes stray beyond the literary and into the florid but overall this compact little essay of history, mystery and maths should give you entertainment and mental stimulation in equal measure. --Robert Matthews

Amazon.co.uk Review

On the face of it, the chances of a book about zero offering mind-stretching entertainment would seem to be about, well, zero. But in The Nothing That Is, Harvard University mathematician Robert Kaplan shows that there's a lot more to zero than meets the eye.

Unlike the so-called natural numbers like one, two, three and so on, the origins of zero are incredibly hard to pin down. Humans seem to have done quite well without nothing for tens of thousands of years: not even the Greeks, the master mathematicians of the Ancient World, had a symbol for zero. Or did they? Among the many delights of this book is the way Kaplan reveals the twists and turns in the story of the origin of the symbol for zero and his own suggested resolution of the mystery.

The struggle to do things with zero, such as divide it into other numbers, or use it as the ultimate fine-divider of other numbers--the key idea in the calculus--are brought alive by Kaplan, though without ever resorting to more than simple school algebra. His writing style does sometimes stray beyond the literary and into the florid but overall this compact little essay of history, mystery and maths should give you entertainment and mental stimulation in equal measure. --Robert Matthews

Kaplan must be a botanist ***
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of those who thought this book was far too flowery. There were a lot of interesting parts to it and I found the historical passages rather informative; but when he starts introducing ludicrously overblown paragraphs which you just wade and wade through without finding out why he wrote them, it gets rather tedious. If this book had been a little shorter, it would have been much better.

Kaplan must be a botanist ***

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of those who thought this book was far too flowery. There were a lot of interesting parts to it and I found the historical passages rather informative; but when he starts introducing ludicrously overblown paragraphs which you just wade and wade through without finding out why he wrote them, it gets rather tedious.

If this book had been a little shorter, it would have been much better.

A book about nothing *
You don't have to know anything about mathematics to enjoy this book but just a lot about everything else. It is filled with expressions such as "While Hengel watched Spirit lifting away from Substance the Pantheists were seeking God in the old oak and rock" etc etc. In fact the book should be sentenced to an appearance in Private Eye's "Psued's Corner." However when Robert Kaplan deals with pure mathematics his style becomes very lucid indicating he is a teacher of great skill. A great pity he should embark on such a book on a subject that should be of great interest. More for fans of Melvyn Bragg than Richard Feynmann.

A book about nothing *

You don't have to know anything about mathematics to enjoy this book but just a lot about everything else. It is filled with expressions such as "While Hengel watched Spirit lifting away from Substance the Pantheists were seeking God in the old oak and rock" etc etc. In fact the book should be sentenced to an appearance in Private Eye's "Psued's Corner." However when Robert Kaplan deals with pure mathematics his style becomes very lucid indicating he is a teacher of great skill. A great pity he should embark on such a book on a subject that should be of great interest. More for fans of Melvyn Bragg than Richard Feynmann.

Even Vogon poetry has it's fans. ****
It's an intersting subject. It's a well written book, some of the words are not ones which I use every day, but I was once taught how to use a dictionary, so that is not a problem for me. I have to assume that this book is well researched, since I know very little else about the subject, of course I _do_ now have enough of a surrounding knowledge to ask far more intelligent questions, and look for more books. Anyone who never knew that infinity was conceptualised and written down long before zero, is likely to enjoy this book.

Even Vogon poetry has it's fans. ****

It's an intersting subject.

It's a well written book, some of the words are not ones which I use every day, but I was once taught how to use a dictionary, so that is not a problem for me.

I have to assume that this book is well researched, since I know very little else about the subject, of course I _do_ now have enough of a surrounding knowledge to ask far more intelligent questions, and look for more books.

Anyone who never knew that infinity was conceptualised and written down long before zero, is likely to enjoy this book.

Unnecessary waffle obscures any interesting information *
I just want to add my voice to those who thought that this book was full of too much flowery language. If you have the time and patience to wade through the pseudo-intellectual claptrap there is some interesting information hidden in this book. Unfortunately I found it all too annoying.

Unnecessary waffle obscures any interesting information *

I just want to add my voice to those who thought that this book was full of too much flowery language. If you have the time and patience to wade through the pseudo-intellectual claptrap there is some interesting information hidden in this book. Unfortunately I found it all too annoying.

a new age hippy-dippy trip to nowhere *
You can almost smell the joss sticks as you are reading this one! The author roams all over the place whilst fruitlessly conjecturing on what might have been 100s or 1000s of years ago. I gave up about 3/4 of the way through. Now where did I leave my weed .....

a new age hippy-dippy trip to nowhere *

You can almost smell the joss sticks as you are reading this one! The author roams all over the place whilst fruitlessly conjecturing on what might have been 100s or 1000s of years ago. I gave up about 3/4 of the way through. Now where did I leave my weed .....