The Triumph of Numbers

by I.B. Cohen

In The Triumph of Numbers, his last work, I. B. Cohen explores how numbers have come to assume a leading role just about everywhere in science, in the operations and structure of government, in the analysis of society, in marketing, in sports, and more. Cohen shows how, not so long ago, the problems of government, science, and engineering led to the invention of the computer. It has been a long journey. Starting with true revolutionaries like Kepler and Galileo, Cohen introduces many players in the ascent of numbers, some barely remembered. On his way he shines a new light on familiar figures like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Charles Dickens (an avid statistician), and he reveals Florence Nightingale as one who thought through numbers and transformed British military medical practices. In this work, Cohen has left us with an accessible history, and an appreciation and understanding of the essential nature of statistics.

Genres: History, Mathematics, Nonfiction, Historical, Science

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Cam Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to find books about the history of statistics -- to learn about it through so many fun anecdotes was a delight! I recommend this book to anyone interested in statistics, to better understand its early days during the 17-19th centuries.

[Stephie Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book examines how numbers have influenced society. The book is not mainly about how mathematics is used in the natural sciences; although, it does give a few sections on it in chapter two – Kepler’s and Galileo’s work. While it gives some coverage to numerology and religion, the books main interest is in statistics, and its use in the social sciences and sociology, mainly the distributions that occur in such things as births and deaths, crime, and disease.

I couldn’t help thinking as I read through the book that if it is true that each equation cuts a book’s sales in half, that this book probably wound not suffer much because I cannot imagine much of a readership or it in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the book was fine, and the actual equations use no higher mathematics like calculus. The book is short and that cuts down on the lows I find in larger books.
I guess I could recommend this book to someone interest in social statics. The one thing the reader needs to keep in mind is that it only covers number usage up to the mid nineteenth century.

[Katie McCune]

Liked it, then didn’t like it, then liked it again!

[Maggie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quick and very interesting. It talked about a number of mathematicians I hadn't heard of. I especially like the chapter about Florence Nightingale who used statistics to convince the British government to improve the conditions for British soldiers. I should read a biography of her. It was especially interesting since she lived a little later than Margaret Fuller who talked and observed more than she acted to improve lives.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really a history of statistics (I didn't realize this when I checked it out from the library), which is okay, because I adore statistics! It's sort of a conversational history, and although it isn't exactly what I'd call academic, it is a very fun romp through the history of numbers. I enjoyed it immensely.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, enjoyable history of how statistics came about, why it was resisted, and how it helped improve our understanding. There is stuff here I hadn't come across before in histories of science...like Adolphe Quetelet and why he was so influential, and how Florence Nightingale had a 'passion for statistics'.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about how numbers, especially statistics, came to importance in every day life. It follows the history of numbers as they grow to importance.
There’s not a lot of actual math here, but the history itself is fairly interesting, although it took me a while to get into the book.

[Nik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Includes some interesting history of how statistics first came into use.

[Fishsanwitt]

stamped

[Phil]

It's amazing but this book just opens our consciousness to the realization that our world has been ruled by numbers and we have been unconsciously dealing with them.