Descartes's Secret Notebook A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe

Name: Descartes's Secret Notebook A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe
Price: 3.57 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780767920346

ISBN-10: 0767920341

ISBN-13: 9780767920346

Edition: N/A

Authors: Amir D. Aczel

List price: $16.00

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Description:

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 have made our physical and 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 in history, moved to Paris in search of this notebook--and eventually…

Book details

List price: $16.00
Publisher: Broadway Books
Publication date: 10/10/2006
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 288
Size: 5.00" wide x 7.75" long x 0.50" tall
Weight: 0.440
Language: English

Amir D. Aczel, Ph.D., his work has been translated into Turkish, Hebrew, French, German, italian, Chinese and Spanish. An internationally known mathematician, he lives in the Boston area.



Acknowledgments


Introduction


Prologue: Leibniz's Search in Paris



The Gardens of Touraine



Jesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital



The Dutch Puzzle



Three Dreams in an Oven by the Danube



The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague



The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague



The Brotherhood



Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais



Descartes and the Rosicrucians



Italian Creations



A Duel at Orleans, and the Siege of La Rochelle



The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo



A Secret Affair



Descartes' Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method



Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery



Princess Elizabeth



The Intrigues of Utrecht



The Call of the Queen



The Mysterious Death of Descartes



Leibniz's Quest for Descartes' Secret



Leibniz Breaks Descartes' Code and Solves the Mystery


A Twenty-First-Century Epilogue


Notes


Bibliography


Illustration Credits


Index