Magic is No Magic: The Wonderful World of Simon Stevin

"...This is an interesting, well-written, well-illustrated and particularly well-translated book (I think that translators often don’t get the credit they deserve) about a fascinating and important person who made a spectacular contribution to mathematics, decimal arithmetic...It really is a good book.”MAA REVIEWS Mar 2009 "This superficial renumeration shows the incredibly versatile mind of Stevin. However, even more important is that the book illustrates, through detailed considerations and examples, that he reached great depth using logical deduction based on mathematics (not customary in his time!)." "The work reads easily and yet it is not just a popularizing reader: if offers the opportunity to go deeply in Stevin's accomplishments through the reproductions and quotations. This is worth the effort. Moreover the bibliography is excellent if one want to go even deeper." "This book will largely contribute to make Stevin better known and to give him his right place in the hierarchy of the very great that preceded Newton."STUDIUM This book gives a comprehensive picture of the activities and the creative heritage of Simon Stevin, who made outstanding contributions to various fields of science, in particular physics and mathematics, as well as many more. Among the striking spectrum of his ingenious achievements, it is worth emphasizing that Simon Stevin is rightly considered the father of the decimal fraction system as it is today. Stevin also urged the universal use of decimal fractions along with standardization in coinage, measures and weights. This was a most visionary proposal. Stevin was the first scientist since Archimedes to make a significant new contribution to the fields of statics and hydrostatics. He was a true homo universalis.The impact of Stevin's works has been multilateral and worldwide, and it is evident in literature, science, politics and many other fields. Given the way science works today, it would be impossible for a single individual to make meaningful contributions in as many areas as Simon Stevin did. The purpose of this book is to introduce Simon Stevin and his work to the widest possible readership. In doing so, the authors have kept to established historical facts and critically underpinned scientific insights into Stevin and his work. This is the first complete and accessible history of the work of Simon Stevin.Jozef T. Devreese is a professor in theoretical physics at the University of Antwerp and at the Technical University of Eindhoven. Guido Vanden Berghe is a professor in numerical mathematics at the University of Ghent. Both have numerous publications to their names, which also concern the history of science. Read more