Lengths, widths, surfaces. A portrait of Old Babylonian algebra and its kin (Q5955700)

This is a very important book that should be read by all prospective authors on the history of mathematics. By a very careful analysis of representative tablets, the author shows that Old Babylonian mathematics was not algebra represented by a collection of geometric problems but algebra based on (dimensionally homogeneous) geometric reasoning; that Euclid's book II is not a translation but a critical presentation of the essence of Babylonian re-emerging mathematics, somehow transmitted from Old Babylonian to Late Babylonian over a period of silence of almost 1000 years. The author also discusses the role of Sumerian, changing from language to a mixture of terms and logograms, and the problems of transmission to other cultures. A number of mathematical topics are also discussed, such as the probable method of the high precision computation of \(\sqrt{2}\). The book is a superb example of research standing on the shoulders of giants (mainly Neugebauer and his collaborators) opening up many new vistas. There is also a useful glossary of mathematical terms showing the very restricted vocabulary of formalized, nonutilitarian mathematics. The book is remarkably free of typographical errors (in Note 461, rēšum should be italicized.) The programmers of \TeX{} should see to it that the emphatic dot \d- is legible; in the book one almost needs a magnifying glass.