1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910455526603321

Autore

Netz Reviel

Titolo

Ludic proof : Greek mathematics and the Alexandrian aesthetic / / Reviel Netz [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2009

ISBN

1-107-20226-4

1-282-18708-2

9786612187087

0-511-54049-3

0-511-58147-5

0-511-53913-4

0-511-54083-3

0-511-53830-8

0-511-53997-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xv, 255 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

510.938

Soggetti

Mathematics, Greek

Technical writing

Greek language, Hellenistic (300 B.C.-600 A.D.)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- The carnival of calculation -- The telling of mathematics -- Hybrids and mosaics -- The poetic interface -- Conclusions and qualifications.

Sommario/riassunto

This book represents a new departure in science studies: an analysis of a scientific style of writing, situating it within the context of the contemporary style of literature. Its philosophical significance is that it provides a novel way of making sense of the notion of a scientific style. For the first time, the Hellenistic mathematical corpus - one of the most substantial extant for the period - is placed centre-stage in the discussion of Hellenistic culture as a whole. Professor Netz argues that Hellenistic mathematical writings adopt a narrative strategy based on surprise, a compositional form based on a mosaic of apparently



unrelated elements, and a carnivalesque profusion of detail. He further investigates how such stylistic preferences derive from, and throw light on, the style of Hellenistic poetry. This important book will be welcomed by all scholars of Hellenistic civilization as well as historians of ancient science and Western mathematics.