Euclid's Window

The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace

De: Leonard Mlodinow

Narrado por: Robert Blumenfeld

Through Euclid's Window Leonard Mlodinow brilliantly and delightfully leads us on a journey through five revolutions in geometry, from the Greek concept of parallel lines to the latest notions of hyperspace. Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology.

Based on Mlodinow's extensive historical research; his studies alongside colleagues such as Richard Feynman and Kip Thorne; and interviews with leading physicists and mathematicians such as Murray Gell-Mann, Edward Witten, and Brian Greene, Euclid's Window is an extraordinary blend of rigorous, authoritative investigation and accessible, good-humored storytelling that makes a stunningly original argument asserting the primacy of geometry. For those who have looked through Euclid's Window, no space, no thing, and no time will ever be quite the same.

©2009 Leonard Mlodinow (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

History, dash of equations

Enjoyed this as a history book, but the mathmatical concepts are kept more in the background. The book starts mostly with the Greeks: Pythagorus, Euclid, and Archimedes, and their contributions to geometry and trigonometry; then onto Hypatia, the Romans and dark/middle ages where war and The Church rule and little is learned (but arithmetic is derived in the Middle East). Onto Erasmus, Galileo, Decartes, Gauss and non-Euclidian (hyperspace) geometry where a triangle is greater/less than 180 degrees. From there to Einstein, relativity, and spacetime. Then a bit on s-theory to string theory.

LOVED This

What did you love best about Euclid's Window?

The history of math. People figured out things I still don't understand, and they figured them out by drawing in sand without calculators or computers. Fascinating.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I liked it so much I'll probably listen to it again.

Any additional comments?

If you're interested in the evolution of mathematics, this is the book for you.

Really Loved it!!

What did you love best about Euclid's Window?

I really love both history and mathematics, so this was the perfect read for me.

In college, I was so focused on problem solving, I wasn't able to step away from the text to really delve into the story behind the Geometry. This read affords me that chance and has me going back to some of my old text and rediscovering what I really love about mathematics.

Very much recommended for anyone who loves history and is fascinated by mathematics ;-)!

A Great Read

If you are not a person who succeeded in highschool science classes but want to have an understanding of complicated science ideas then this is the book to read. The complex is made understandable. I will never be able to succeed in a physics class but the history presented was clear, concise, and entertaining.

Excellent - Intellectually fulfilling

The book is a journey into the past while bringing us to our current moment in time. Euclid set us upon this journey - with Geometry becoming the basis for for our understanding of modern physics and thus allowing us to glimpse like the ancients into cosmology. The performance is professional and excellent. In conclusion it is as though we participate in a forum in a modern school of school of Athens - where through its essence we grow with an understanding of geometry into deeper philosophical and esoteric possibilities and constructs. Personally I can listen to it over and over ! It builds a deeper sense of knowledge of our universe and of ourselves !