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Empire of the Sum on Hardback by Keith Houston
Empire of the Sum on Hardback by Keith Houston
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Empire of the Sum

The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator
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Description

Starting with hands, abacus, and slide rule, humans have always reached for tools to simplify math. Pocket-sized calculators ushered in modern mathematics, helped build the atomic bomb, took us to the bottom of the ocean, and accompanied us to the moon. The pocket calculator changed our world, until it was supplanted by more modern devices that, in a cruel twist of irony, it helped to create. The calculator is dead; long live the calculator. In this witty mathematic and social history, Keith Houston transports readers from the nascent economies of the ancient world to World War II, where a Jewish engineer calculated for his life at Buchenwald, and into the technological arms race that led to the first affordable electronic pocket calculators. At every turn, Houston is a scholarly, affable guide to this global history of invention.Empire of the Sum will appeal to math lovers, history buffs, and anyone seeking to understand our trajectory to the computer age.

Author Biography:

Keith Houston is the author of Shady Characters and The Book. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Mental Floss, BBC Culture, and on Time.com. He lives in Birmingham, England.
Release date Australia
October 6th, 2023
Author
Audience
  • General (US: Trade)
Illustrations
Full-Color Illustrations
Pages
384
Dimensions
147x218x30
ISBN-13
9780393882148
Product ID
36513377

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