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Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe
by Amir D. Aczel
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used - Like New
- ISBN 10
- 0767920341
- ISBN 13
- 9780767920346
- Seller
-
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Broadway. Used - Like New. 2006. Paperback. Small publisher's mark to text block. Otherwise, Fine.
Synopsis
Rene Descartes (1596--1650) is one of the towering and central figures in Western philosophy and mathematics. His apothegm "Cogito, ergo sum" marked the birth of the mind-body problem, while his creation of so-called Cartesian coordinates has made our intellectual conquest of physical space possible.But Descartes had a mysterious and mystical side, as well. Almost certainly a member of the occult brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, he kept a secret notebook, now lost, most of which was written in code. After Descartes's death, Gottfried Leibniz, inventor of calculus and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, moved to Paris in search of this notebook--and eventually found it in the possession of Claude Clerselier, a friend of Descartes's. Liebniz called on Clerselier and was allowed to copy only a couple of pages--which, though written in code, he amazingly deciphered there on the spot. Liebniz's hastily scribbled notes are all we have today of Descartes's notebook.Why did Descartes keep a secret notebook, and what were its contents? The answers to these questions will lead the reader on an exciting, swashbuckling journey, and offer a fascinating look at one of the great figures of Western culture.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Powell's Bookstores Chicago
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- BR29655
- Title
- Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe
- Author
- Amir D. Aczel
- Book Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0767920341
- ISBN 13
- 9780767920346
- Publisher
- Broadway
- Place of Publication
- New York, New York, U.s.a.
- This edition first published
- October 10, 2006
Terms of Sale
Powell's Bookstores Chicago
All orders subject to previous sale. Domestic Standard ships USPS Bound Printed Matter; Domestic Expedited ships UPS Ground; International ships via Air courier. All orders over $200.00 upgraded to UPS Ground without additional charge.
About the Seller
Powell's Bookstores Chicago
Biblio member since 2005
Chicago, Illinois
About Powell's Bookstores Chicago
Used, rare and out-of-print titles, specializing in academic and scholarly books. Independent bookstores in Chicago since 1970
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
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