Jerome S. Meyer (1895–1975)

Indeholder "Svar på spørgsmålene på omslagets bagside", "Kapitel 1: Sæt Dem ned, og lad os snakke sammen", "Kapitel 2: Det er 'mængden', der gør det", "Kapitel 3: Kongruente tal! Prøver De at bilde mig noget ind?", "Kapitel 4: Der er flere talsystemer, Horatio, end du drømmer om i din matematik", "Kapitel 5: Symboler - matematikkens stenografi", "Kapitel 6: Ikke alle størrelser er skabt lige", "Kapitel 7: Grafen - symbolernes 'store mand'", "Kapitel 8: P.S. Og lige én ting iil", "Løsninger".

Ret amerikansk måde at afmystificere mængdelære og den slags, der pludseligt kom ind i matematikpensum ovenpå sputnikchokket. Indholdet er ret trivielt og oven i købet amerikansk, fx er der en opgave med at liste alle amerikanske stater, der ender på -a. Så man har taget en amerikansk bog skrevet for amerikanere med bunker af amerikanske eksempler og blot oversat det hele til dansk - det er altså ikke specielt smart for danske læsere… (mer)

Although this book was publd over fifty years ago, it still contains a highly readable and entertaining account of the history of invention and technology. It begins in prehistoric times where Meyer offers his logical and humorous explanations of the invention of the wheel, the inclined plane, the lever, fire, pottery, weaving and other discoveries of our early ancestors. Ancient civilizations are covered next, including the Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks and Romans and here the number of inventions increases dramatically. The style of writing is light and clear and the paperback has many line drawings illustrating the various devices such as the aeliopile, clepsydra, Archimedean screw and a crossbow on wheels. The historical context and characters such as Hero and Archimedes are presented so that the reader can see somewhat how the inventions were a part of the culture of their times. The ancient Greeks had a very different attitude towards science and technology from ours. While we have very specific purposes in mind for an invention and plan and test methodically and scientifically, the ancient Greeks considered the constructing of 'machines' as something beneath their concern--suitable for slaves who did most of the work. They sought physical representations of the principles of nature that they put forth in their philosophies. The application of the scientific method to the building of practical instruments and devices had to wait many hundreds of years.
The book continues on into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with descriptions of the development of printing by movable type and the laws of optics and how they were used to grind the lenses and make the telescopes and microscopes that revealed hidden worlds. There are sections on the invention of the gasoline and diesel engines and on the discovery and application of electricity. At the writing of this book, radios and TVs still operated by means of vacuum tube circuits. The transistor was discovered in the mid-1940s, but was not really utilized in consumer electronics until the 1950s with the marketing of 'transistor' radios. The book ends with a great section called What does the Future Hold for Us? It contains short pieces about many other important inventions from A to Z, that were not discussed in the main sections of the book. This part is fun to read by itself because it offers a great capsule summary of many of the devices, processes and simple items like matches and cement that we don't usually think about, but which were invented and perfected by some often forgotten scientists working long hours in the lab for that Eureka! moment of success. This is a highly readable and enjoyable book for anyone from teenagers on up.… (mer)