Summary

For millennia, Euclidean geometry, the geometry of the ancient Greeks, set the standard for rigor in mathematics--it was the only branch of mathematics that had been developed axiomatically, or based on a system of axioms. This form of geometry was the language of mathematics. But early in the 19th century, mathematicians developed geometries very different from Euclid's simply by choosing axioms different from those used by Euclid. These new geometries were internally consistent in the sense that mathematicians could find no theorems arising within these geometries that could be proven both true and false.

Beyond Geometry describes how set-theoretic topology developed and why it now occupies a central place in mathematics. Describing axiomatic method as well as providing a definition of what a geometric property is, this new resource examines how early analysts incorporated geometric thinking into their development of the calculus. It also looks at the various mathematicians who struggled to develop a new conceptual framework for mathematics and examines one of the sub-disciplines of set-theoretic topology called dimension theory.

Specifications

Full-color photographs and line illustrations. Index. Appendix. Bibliography. Glossary. Cross-references. Chronology. Tables. Further resources.

About the Author(s)

John Tabak, Ph.D., performed graduate work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and received a degree in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the author of Facts On File's Energy and the Environment set as well as Significant Gestures: A History of American Sign Language, a social and scientific history of one of North America's most unique languages. 

Reviews and Awards

"An ideal resource for serious students who would like to deepen their knowledge of geometry and its history...a useful addition to public libraries and school libraries, especially those with a strong mathematics program."