These are just a few of the thought-provoking questions answered in this beautifully illustrated book. Author Clifford A. Pickover reveals the magic and mystery behind some of the most significant mathematical milestones as well as the oddest objects and ideas humanity has ever contemplated, beginning in 150 million B.C. and ending with the latest cutting-edge breakthroughs. Mathematics has permeated every field of scientific endeavor. It can be used to explain the colors of the sunset or the architecture of our brains, and help us explore subatomic quantum realities and image faraway galaxies. Notable formulas and mathematical concepts are accompanied by fascinating facts about mathematicians' lives and real-world, practical applications of theorems.

Journey with Pickover as he traces 250 achievements like ancient ant "odometers," the first abacus, the discovery of computer-generated fractals, and the quest for new dimensions. Here also are remarkable thinkers from Pythagoras and Euclid to modern-day math icon Martin Gardner and cosmologist Max Tegmark. Chronologically organized, each entry is short enough to digest in a few minutes and is presented along with a striking full-color image. "For me," writes Pickover, "mathematics cultivates a perpetual state of wonder about the nature of mind, the limits of thoughts, and our place in this vast cosmos." Book jacket.