Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers Hardcover – March 23, 2014

First off, I loved this book and highly recommend it. With respect to readability, this was much easier for me to read than  The Rainbow of Mathematics: A History of the Mathematical Sciences (The Norton History of Science) . We used  Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics  for a mathematics history course when I was an undergrad and to me, Mazur's book was similar to that in readability, but with a focus on symbols of mathematics.As a math educator, I especially loved "Sans Symbols" which introduces the development of symbolic algebra. The start of the chapter has an exceptionally interesting account of the author reading in person the oldest surviving manuscript of Euclid's Elements.I read many parts of this book aloud to my wife. She listened and appreciated those excerpts. This speaks to the quality of writing, and I cannot say this of very many mathematics books I've read.

Somebody should mention that this book is about the symbols used to represent mathematical numbers, i.e. 1,2,3. The mathematical operators are not covered beyond addition. Thus most of the book is about the history of the addition process. While the history is interesting and fascinating, I was hoping for a history of the semiotics used for the operators in math at a higher level than the third grade. That aside, I would recommend the book if for no other reason than it helps examine the role of symbolic representation in expressing elementary logic. The symbols both enable and limit the logic. The efforts used to overcome those limitations are important milestones in technological progression at any level.

We've all been disappointed when we got a Kindle title (or any e reader) and the MathML or LaTex was slaughtered. Since this book has numerous symbols but not a lot of complex formulas, Kindle is not a problem. Where there are "sentences" in math symbols, they are handled well.That said, the hard cover is a treasure. This is a very well produced historical survey that should be in every library, including yours if you're into history, math or even language. I personally find that I understand the subtleties of (English) language better if I understand the etymology of a word. This is equally true albeit in a slightly different way with the fine treatment of symbolic evolution in this gem of a book.Understanding how a summa symbol came to be won't tell you how to use it in combinatorics or a power series, or in double form in a logistic regression error term. However, the good news is we don't have to understand that to really enjoy this book. Flip side, if you ARE into math, you'll REALLY love this. I like books that don't just parrot formulas but give an idea of the "intuitive" meaning or reason for the formula, like "putting these numbers in a matrix makes it easier for a computer to change coordinate axes which is one reason we do it."This text takes that a step further, and not only gives context, but HISTORICAL context in genuinely useful human endeavors-- the WHY and how of the underlying value as use evolved. This turns on a LOT of light bulbs if you're into math, and is still fun and a great "detective" read even if you're not. Which is my final point: don't get turned off due to the math side if you love history and detective (deductive) logic-- the writing is crisp, well paced and "leads" you quickly forward-- IOW NOT DULL or dry. And frankly, as I look at other math books, the symbols also seem a little more friendly and familiar, and less intimidating, knowing about the neighborhood in which they grew up. Would also make a great gift for a detail oriented picky person in your life!

It's really interesting when it comes to the psychological associations with symbols vs language. Sometimes it can be a bit to technical and vague because he will explain a bit of history just to end it with "It's still unsure"It made me value the concept of math more, and helped me see it from a perspective that it's easier for me grasp.Overall good read.

This is the highest rating, because this book sheds light on one of the toughest philosophical questions. The question is what accounts for the "Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences"? Mazur via his entertaining history that spans many places, times and cultures, explains that the mathematical symbols we commonly use did not come down from the mountain written on a tablet, but evolved with a lot of passion, genius, and serendipity. Our present mathematics have been pushed and cajoled into shape via symbols. This book may not be a complete explanation as to the effectiveness of mathematics, but it is an enlightening peek under the curtain. If you like history and have a mathematical bent (no need to be a mathematician, and mathematicians would like it) you would enjoy this book.

The book deals with a subject that lends itself to an orderly presentation. The author clearly knows his subject, but the book suffers from three drawbacks: 1. There are occasional lapses into very colloquial usage, not fit for academic writing; 2. The non-English characters are misrepresented (for example, the Hebrew sequence for the number 9686 in the third chapter is ordered from left to right, although Hebrew, and Hebrew characters used as numbers, are ordered from right to left; the Greek word for ten is Deka and not Peka, and the symbol for that number must thus be delta and not pi); 3. The author often strays from the subject, and especially in the last two chapters wanders in the fields of amateur psychology and his own imagination rather than in the history of the symbols.In short, this is an interesting book, in need of a sympathetic but firm editorial hand.

Arrived on time and as described. Thanks!

A very interesting and informative book, but I could have done without his rather speculative, semi-mystical interpretations of the effect that the use of symbols might have on our thinking.The print is rather small, and though the hardback is nicely put together, the inner margins are also rather small so that the book has to be opened out more than is comfortable.

I always find Joseph Mazur engaging, and this is no exception, It is fascinating to see how our present way of writing mathematics evolved -- and one has to admire the mathematicians who produced important results when the tools they used were still so primitive. There were one or two places where I thought proof-reading could have been better -- for example in the discussion of the general quadratic equation we have one expression and two equations, but all are described as equations (at least, that's what I see in the Kindle version). Well worth reading, though.

Not quite what I was expecting, I thought it would give historical information about the first appearance of modern mathematical symbols such as +, = , sigma etc. Interesting nevertheless.