The Computer and the Information Revolution (Volume III)

Numbers are one of two creations (the other being the alphabet of the human spirit which have given us today’s world. The three volumes of The Universal History of Numbers are probably the first comprehensive history of numbers and of counting from Prehistory to the modern age. They are also the story of how the human race has learnt to think logically. In Volume III Georges Ifrah has written by far the fullest survey of the birth and growth of informatics, and a revolutionary account of the interface between arithmetic, algebra, logic and computing. He explains the birth of algebra ad shows how the use of algebraic symbols has shaped the very ways in which we reason, and has led to previously unimaginable forms of calculation and computation. The core of this volume gives the most lucid account of the origins and development of the computer revolution, going back to the calculating machines invented more than a hundred years ago. He concludes with a synthesis of the development of number technology as a function of logic, and gives suggestive pointers to the paths along which information technology is likely to take us. Amazing captivating and enriching, the Universal History of Numbers is a must read not only for specialists and academics, but also for the average reader who is interested in the development of civilization.