The History of Mathematical Tables

The History of Mathematical Tables PDF Author: Martin Campbell-Kelly
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019154521X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description
The oldest known mathematical table was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Shuruppag in southern Iraq. Since then, tables have been an important feature of mathematical activity; table making and printed tabular matter are important precursors to modern computing and information processing. This book contains a series of articles summarising the technical, institutional and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late twentieth century. It covers mathematical tables (the most important computing aid for several hundred years until the 1960s), data tables (eg. Census tables), professional tables (eg. insurance tables), and spreadsheets - the most recent tabular innovation. The book is presented in a scholarly yet accessible way, making appropriate use of text boxes and illustrations. Each chapter has a frontispiece featuring a table along with a small illustration of the source where the table was first displayed. Most chapters have sidebars telling a short "story" or history relating to the chapter. The aim of this edited volume is to capture the history of tables through eleven chapters written by subject specialists. The contributors describe the various information processing techniques and artefacts whose unifying concept is "the mathematical table".

The History of Mathematical Tables

The History of Mathematical Tables PDF Author: Martin Campbell-Kelly
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019154521X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description
The oldest known mathematical table was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Shuruppag in southern Iraq. Since then, tables have been an important feature of mathematical activity; table making and printed tabular matter are important precursors to modern computing and information processing. This book contains a series of articles summarising the technical, institutional and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late twentieth century. It covers mathematical tables (the most important computing aid for several hundred years until the 1960s), data tables (eg. Census tables), professional tables (eg. insurance tables), and spreadsheets - the most recent tabular innovation. The book is presented in a scholarly yet accessible way, making appropriate use of text boxes and illustrations. Each chapter has a frontispiece featuring a table along with a small illustration of the source where the table was first displayed. Most chapters have sidebars telling a short "story" or history relating to the chapter. The aim of this edited volume is to capture the history of tables through eleven chapters written by subject specialists. The contributors describe the various information processing techniques and artefacts whose unifying concept is "the mathematical table".

The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac

The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac PDF Author: United States Naval Observatory. Nautical Almanac Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ephemerides
Languages : en
Pages : 584

Get Book Here

Book Description


When Computers Were Human

When Computers Were Human PDF Author: David Alan Grier
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400849365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 423

Get Book Here

Book Description
Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to the people who did scientific calculations by hand. These workers were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. When Computers Were Human represents the first in-depth account of this little-known, 200-year epoch in the history of science and technology. Beginning with the story of his own grandmother, who was trained as a human computer, David Alan Grier provides a poignant introduction to the wider world of women and men who did the hard computational labor of science. His grandmother's casual remark, "I wish I'd used my calculus," hinted at a career deferred and an education forgotten, a secret life unappreciated; like many highly educated women of her generation, she studied to become a human computer because nothing else would offer her a place in the scientific world. The book begins with the return of Halley's comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit. It ends four cycles later, with a UNIVAC electronic computer projecting the 1986 orbit. In between, Grier tells us about the surveyors of the French Revolution, describes the calculating machines of Charles Babbage, and guides the reader through the Great Depression to marvel at the giant computing room of the Works Progress Administration. When Computers Were Human is the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community. In the end, they were rewarded by a new electronic machine that took the place and the name of those who were, once, the computers.

The Sailor's Word-book

The Sailor's Word-book PDF Author: William Henry Smyth
Publisher: London : Blackie and son
ISBN:
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 836

Get Book Here

Book Description


A History of the Rectangular Survey System

A History of the Rectangular Survey System PDF Author: C. Albert White
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 794

Get Book Here

Book Description


Astronomical Papers Prepared for the Use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac

Astronomical Papers Prepared for the Use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Dutch Language in Japan (1600-1900)

The Dutch Language in Japan (1600-1900) PDF Author: Christopher Joby
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004438653
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Dutch Language in Japan (1600-1900) Christopher Joby offers the first book-length account of the knowledge and use of the Dutch language in Tokugawa and early Meiji Japan, which had a profound effect on Japan’s language, society and culture.

Tables of the Moon; constructed for the use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac

Tables of the Moon; constructed for the use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac PDF Author: Benjamin Peirce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description


American Practical Navigator

American Practical Navigator PDF Author: Nathaniel Bowditch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nautical astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 798

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution

The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution PDF Author: William Cooper Nell
Publisher: Andesite Press
ISBN: 9781298490308
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 412

Get Book Here

Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.