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Ian Stewart considers the concept of infinity and the profound role it plays in mathematics, logic, physics, cosmology, and philosophy. He shows that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise, and analyses its important practical everyday applications.

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Infinity is an intriguing topic, with connections to religion, philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and physics as well as mathematics. Its history goes back to ancient times, with especially important contributions from Euclid, Aristotle, Eudoxus, and Archimedes. The infinitely large (infinite) is intimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Cosmologists consider sweeping questions about whether space and time are infinite. Philosophers and mathematiciansranging from Zeno to Russell have posed numerous paradoxes about infinity and infinitesimals. Many vital areas of mathematics rest upon some version of infinity. The most obvious, and the first context in which major new techniques depended on formulating infinite processes, is calculus. But thereare many others, for example Fourier analysis and fractals.In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart discusses infinity in mathematics while also drawing in the various other aspects of infinity and explaining some of the major problems and insights arising from this concept. He argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supplytechniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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This particular volume does exactly what it says on the tin, providing just enough background on various aspects of infinity to pique the readers interest. It is written with the same clarity and attention to detail as Professor Stewarts other books. David Hopkins, Mathematical Gazette

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Professor Ian Stewart of Warwick University is a well-known and highly successful writer on mathematics and its applications. He has authored over 80 books including From Here to Infinity (OUP, 1996), Does God Play Dice? (Penguin, 1997), Symmetry: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2013), and the bestselling series The Science of Discworld I, II, III, and IV with Terry Pratchett and Jack Cohen.

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