{"product_id":"9781608192915","title":"Hidden Harmonies: The Lives and Times of the Pythagorean Theorem","description":"\u003ci\u003eA \u003c\/i\u003esquared plus \u003ci\u003eb \u003c\/i\u003esquared equals \u003ci\u003ec \u003c\/i\u003esquared. It \u003cbr\u003esounds simple, doesn't it? Yet this familiar expression is a gateway \u003cbr\u003einto the riotous garden of mathematics, and sends us on a journey of \u003cbr\u003eexploration in the company of two inspired guides, acclaimed authors \u003cbr\u003eRobert and Ellen Kaplan. With wit, verve, and clarity, they trace the \u003cbr\u003elife of the Pythagorean theorem, from ancient Babylon to the present, \u003cbr\u003evisiting along the way Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, President \u003cbr\u003eJames Garfield, and the Freemasons-not to mention the elusive Pythagoras\u003cbr\u003e himself, who almost certainly did not make the statement that bears his\u003cbr\u003e name.\u003cbr\u003eHow can a theorem have more than one proof? Why does this one have \u003cbr\u003emore than two hundred-or is it four thousand? The Pythagorean theorem \u003cbr\u003ehas even more applications than proofs: Ancient Egyptians used it for \u003cbr\u003esurveying property lines, and today astronomers call on it to measure \u003cbr\u003ethe distance between stars. Its generalizations are stunning-the theorem\u003cbr\u003e works even with shapes on the sides that aren't squares, and not just \u003cbr\u003ein two dimensions, but any number you like, up to infinity. And perhaps \u003cbr\u003eits most intriguing feature of all, this tidy expression opened the door\u003cbr\u003e to the world of irrational numbers, an untidy discovery that deeply \u003cbr\u003etroubled Pythagoras's disciples.\u003cbr\u003eLike the authors' bestselling \u003ci\u003eThe Nothing That Is \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eChances Are . . .\u003c\/i\u003e-hailed as \"erudite and witty,\" \"magnificent,\" and \"exhilarating\"-\u003ci\u003eHidden Harmonies \u003c\/i\u003emakes the excitement of mathematics palpable.","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47138789949680,"sku":"9781608192915","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781608192915_p0.jpg?v=1763835038","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781608192915","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}