"The Book of Numbers: The Secret of Numbers and How They Changed the World" by Peter J. Bentley

Truly a remarkable documentation, surveying the development and history of numbers along with the mathematics that explained it.

Kris Caballero • Jun 25, 2024 (originally published on Jun 24, 2024 via The Seeds of Books) • 0 comments • Book Reviews

You're reading our very first "coffee table" book reviewed here on The Seeds of Books and also one of the first books to be purchased at our favorite, but now defunct, bookstore Borders. What fascinated us about this was, yes, another book about numbers but the added illustrations and friendly writing were something we couldn't ignore. Rife with information, history and the development in how we humans started counting makes for a great survey looking into the depths of what numbers are and why they're...here. If numbers never existed, wouldn't you think things would look dry and less developed? We all owe it to numbers even though we take them for granted.

Author Peter J. Bentley introduces all that there is, from how we started counting to the famous numbers like pi and even the deeper concepts that helped in the various mathematical disciplines we know today such as Trigonometry, Number Theory and Calculus to name a few. The reader also learns of mathematicians who all made this possible, whose names you may or may not be familiar with but all have contributed to mathematics in every way. The information is so rich, author Bentley presents them in a way that keeps your attention chapter by chapter. While there are some examples demonstrating some of the math problems and theorems, it's still an engaging read without throwing some random equations that the average person may not be able to understand (we wish Math is as popular as sports and entertainment). Along the way, this book adds some high-quality illustrations and images, some may likely not have been shared online—which probably changed by now. Going through the book would likely ruin the mystique Bentley presents in his style of writing, but rest assured, it's a historical account written in a way that everyone can understand and absorb regardless of their mathematical prowess. Speaking of mystique, one thing that always makes us laugh is the story of Archimedes as we'll leave that for the reader to find out.

Perhaps the nicest thing was including history about the numbers not often mainstream such as φ (golden ratio) and e (Euler's Constant). Given that the average person knows about pi (π), we thought it was a great thing Bentley went ahead and included ones many people don't often converse about. Even though these numbers are used in higher-level mathematics, they're still worthwhile to learn. I mean, to think that perfection lies in the fractals and the golden ratio really showed the creative and deep thinking many of these mathematicians had when doing research (readers will learn that some even praised such numbers for they hold powers they won't find nor seek from any ruler in power). That's right: These early citizens, even the Pythagoreans, found that some of these numbers discovered held some key and/or secret to Life, the Universe and even praising God for putting out some "puzzles" for us to figure out and understand what He did in the creation of everything. To say that mathematics allows us to grow, appreciate Life and nature, and to progress forward is a true understatement. Regardless of these mathematicians' contributions to the subject, big or small, Bentley shares all, the ups and downs they underwent and what took them to conclude to such thing. In other words, you, the reader, develop some respect for these folks who went ahead to make the world a better place.

Another stunning information happens to be the story and account of Isaac Newton. Despite his amazing contributions, not far off from Albert Einstein, the reader will learn of his psychotic attitude. As matter of fact, readers will learn, and possibly ponder, why many of these geniuses served time in jail and using their imprisoned time to work on math. Now, of course, that doesn't imply that [aspiring] mathematicians are criminals, but Bentley has drawn up a great stage into why life back then was so much more different, albeit stricter, than it is now. Imagine living back then where you'd be jailed for proving that the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around...

The best part about is the book overall is the writing. It feels like something that's fit for a documentary series. The writing and how well the information was presented felt like we were reading a script made for TV, as all the facts, images and information came off as a story-board for a series to aired on TV or via streaming. Bentley didn't make promises at the beginning of the book, like what most authors tend to do, but remained at ease and brought about what could be one of the finest books on number history ever written. Whether you've always wanted to learn about numbers and its development, pursue math history or better understand why some numbers are the way they are, such as irrational numbers or even imaginary numbers, you've definitely come to the right place. Again, the book is packed with information but done in a way that's not overwhelming, leaving the reader having learned new things from the way the writing "sticks," mentally.

Our favorite chapter happens to be CHAPTER 12a - TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA which was a chapter talking about the superstitious nature behind numbers. Maybe the illustrations shown in this book should speak for themselves:




According to Bentley, there isn't much proof of some wrath behind the energy of numbers (are we sure about that?). It's no surprise since one of the craziest criminals, like Charles Manson and Jack the Ripper, have 13 letters in their names. In addition, Bentley says:

"Numbers can be used to find messages in text — just don't expect the messages to mean anything. We don't need superstitious and false new meanings; numbers are fascinating in their own right, whether prime, perfect, real, complex or imaginary. Numbers already have profound and true meanings that enable us to explore and explain our universe. It's probably best to stay away from the scaremongerers and charlatans who make their money from misinformation."
— Peter J. Bentley, CHAPTER 12a - TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA, p 193

Tell that to these 'truthers' on social media, whose job is to spread fear sans "waking up" the average person while being at high risk of being banned or even raided by authorities for their "theories," if you want to put it that way. Some of them have Patreon accounts to help fund their "research" and spread of information. One of them uses gematria, the practice of decoding words into numbers, and has been accused of money laundering from his viewers, making this statement from author Bentley valid. While, yes, there are some truth to it, like death happening in intervals of three, why we see the numbers 33, 47, 56, 74, 93 and 201 so often in the news, sometimes it's best not to overthink the entire conjecture and let it be. This goes the same when Bentley mentioned that an Australian reporter talked about 9/11 terrorist attacks were predicted by decoding lyrics from one-hit wonder Vanilla Ice. If these "decoders" do the same with the Bible and use that as a means to predict all the global events happening, we're guessing that many others will try and decode many famous books, articles and song lyrics now that we made mention of this. In that case, what book(s) or song(s) predicted the global economy and the wars going on today? (We're sure someone, or a group of people, out there will start decoding song lyrics from Taylor Swift.)

Given all the books we have read and reviewed since 2012, this becomes the first book with an author using the word "misinformation." Because misinformation is still rampant and a controversial issue among tech companies today, and in general, it's amazing that this book released in 2008 has made usage of the word, only to find that it grew to become a biggger problem among platforms like social media and mainstream media in general. That, alone, triggers a hotly debate into what makes a report legitimate, or if it's done to misinform and/or spread fear to the public.

We could go on about all that's said, especially in this chapter, but aside from the historical accounts, the reader will come away with new information that's written well along with particular situations and practices that will make them think. It's amazing that numbers speak all for themselves and has the ability to change and transform the way we think and even how we live. Even if humanity is done living in this realm, numbers will still be around, though Bentley has talked about how long a lifespan numbers have. Regardless, especially knowing that we humans have created a name for numbers higher than the number of atoms in the Universe, ought to make readers highly appreciative of all the work done to bring us where we are today. Overall, this is a book to be enjoyed, studied from and be informed about what numbers can do, are capable of doing and why we've coincided with its power—the power to gain advantage or to deceive. Nevertheless, numbers are beautiful and Life wouldn't have happened the way it's happening now had it not been for these amazing, quantitative "symbols."

Thank you so much to author Bentley for this book! Highly recommended!

PROFILE
Title	The Book of Numbers The Secret of Numbers and How They Changed the World
Author(s)	Peter J. Bentley
Description	[FRONT FLAP] Number are at the heart of the existence of the universe and everything in it. They are central to every discipline that humans have studied — architecture, quantum mechanics, physics, computer technology, literature,, biology, commerce, philosophy, art, music, religion, the occult. Yet most of us have little understanding of the fundamentals of mathematics as applied to everyday life, let alnoe their part in the wider world and our future. Renowned mathematician Peter J. Bentley unravels the mstery surrounding numbers and chronicles both famous and lesser-known mathematicians and their centuries-long search for the meaning of numbers. From the earliest concepts of numbers and counting, to the puzzles that challenge contemporary mathematicians, Bentley describes the important milestones in the development of mathematics and how each discovery palyed itself out in the world we know today — and the universe we are still exploring. The Book of Numbers is proof that numbers are neither boring nor dull, but are in fact replete with fascinating lives lived, intriguing connections and coincidences, obsessive rivalries, royalty and religion secret documents and even mysterious deaths. [BACK FLAP] Peter J. Bentley is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Computer Science, University College London, and is known for his prolific research covering all aspects of digital biology and evolutionary computation. He is the author of the popular science book Digital Biology and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4. [BACK] They come singly, in pairs and sets, in patterns and shapes, randomly and predictably. They cause bewildering conditions, a parallax, a nutation, aberrations and oscillations. They are variously rational, irrational, natural, perfect, amicable, imaginary, and complex. Each is either feminine or masculine, perfect or imperfect, beautiful or ugly. They have been the subject of poetry, trickery, murder and at least one deathbed confession. Shakespeare, nursery rhymes, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Inquisition, the Holy Trinity, and Googling have them in common. They are some of the first words you learn. There is no limit to their size. They are numbers.
Acknowledgements	'Thanks to: Iain MacGregor for the idea. Gordon Wise for the deals. Laura Price for being a great editor. Jenny Doubt for her attention to detail. Greg Laabs for his statistics from his "pick a random number" website. Mark Hammonds for his original paintings and designs. Jools Greensmith for her proofreading and enthusiasm. The university of St. Andrews for their unbeatable research on the history of mathematics. Everyone at Cassell Illustrated for helping to produce such a lovely book, and encouraging you, my curious reader, to enjoy it. And finally (as usual) I would like to thank the cruel and indifferent, yet astonishingly creative process of evolution for providing the inspiration for all of my work. Long may it continue to do so. Where are all the girls?
ISBN-13 / ISBN-10	987-1-55407-361-0 1-55407-361-8 9 781554 073610
Book Dimensions	Width: 7.56″ (7 9/16″)
	Height: 9.69″ (9 11/16″)
	Depth: ¾
Page Count	272
Contents	CHAPTER -1: BEFORE THE BEGINNING, CHAPTER 0: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, CHAPTER 0.000000001: SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, CHAPTER 1: ALL IS ONE, CHAPTER √2: MURDERING IRRATIONALS, CHAPTER φ: GOLDEN PHI, CHAPTER 2: GOOD AND EVEN, CHAPTER ℯ: THE GREATEST INVENTION, CHAPTER 3: THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE, CHAPTER π: A SLICE OF PI, CHAPTER 10 DECIMALIZATION, CHAPTER 12a: TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA, CHAPTER ⅽ AS FAST AS YOU CAN GO, CHAPTER ∞:THE NEVERENDING STORY, CHAPTER ℹ UNIMAGINABLE COMPLEXITY, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Picture Acknowledgments	AKG images 73, 90, 131, 134, 192, 235; Erich Lessing 78; Visioars 31 Alamy Andrew Darrington 13; Classic Image 218; Dale O'Dell 18; Dinodia Images 20; Eddie Gerald; Frappix 248; Israel images 169; Marco Regalia Illustration 245; Mary Evans Picture Library 151, 153; North Wind Picture Archives 80; Peter Arnold Inc. 227; Picturedimensions 119; Israel images 169; Kolvenbach 162; STOCKFOLIO 215; The Print Collector 150; Visual Arts Library (London) 219 Art Archive 186; Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs Paris Gianni Dagli Orti 155; Gianni Dagli Orti 14, 15, 16, 25; Galleria degli Uffizi Florence 27 Bridgeman Art Library Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France, Lauros Giraudon 45; Academie des Sciences, Paris, France, Giraudon 23; Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge 38; Galleria dell' Accademia, Venice, Italy, Giraudon 236; Musee de la Ville de Paris, Musee du Petit-Palais, France, Giraudon 171; Louvre, Paris, France, Giraudon 62; Edinburgh University Library 47; Private Collection, Peter Newark American Pictures Private Collection 17; Photo © Christie's Images, 145; Galleria degli Uffizi' Florence, Italy 65; Roy Miles Fine Paintings 177; The Stapleton Collection 42 Corbis 47, 55, 56, 91, 93, 212, 229, 232, 234, 239; Araldo do Luca 19, 41; Archivo Iconografico, S.A. 49, 160,221; ARND Wiegmann/Reuters 210; Bernard Annebicque 129; Bettmann 24, 29,43, 49, 77, 82, 88, 91, 92, 98, 100, 107, 114, 115, 118, 122, 123, 125, 138, 143, 161, 173, 179, 183, 198, 203, 207, 213, 222, 241 Alan W. Richards 106; Bill Varie 52; Bruno Ehrs 126; Bryan F. Peterson 202; Digital Art 228; DK Limited, 180; Francis G. Mayer 58, 170; Gianni Dagli Orti 30, 168; George B Diebold 36; Gustavo Tomsich 163; Horace Bristol 32; Hulton-Deutsch Collection 63; Images.com 250; Image Source 190; Joseph Sohm 38; Lester V. Bergman 158; Leonard de Selva 147; Reuters 205; Mark Cooper 184; Mattthias Kulka/zefa 159; Michael Nicholson 198; Michael Rosenfeld/dpa 97; Paul Sale Vern Hoffman 11; Paul Souders 194; Sandro Vannini 87; Stapleton Collection 70; Stefano Bianchetti 75, 79; The Art Archive: Alfredo Dagli Orti 74,220; The Gallery Collection 61 Getty altrendo images 249; Images Bank 132; Time and Life pictures 64, 187, 102, 188; Ian Waldie 105; Marc Romanelli 35; The Italian School 196; Sandra Baker 86 NASA 197,216 Photolibrary 136 Science and Society 26 Science Photo Library 8, 59, 130, 148, 224,226; Astrid & Hanns-Freider Michler 33; CCI Archives 121; Eric Heller 242; Gustoimages 166; George Bernard 112; Jean-Loup Charmet 154, 175; Julien Baum 137; Mark Garlick 134; Prof. E.Lorenz, Peter Arnold Inc. 247; Sandia National Laboratories 34; Science, Industry and Bussiness [sic] Library/New York Public Library 39; Science Source 207; Seymour 159 Superstock Age Fotostock 12 Topfoto 26;Fortean 179; Fortean 179; World History Archive 164, 174 Mark Hammonds (illustrations) 83, 93, 175
Cover Photography	Corbis/Mattthias Kulka/zefa back top left; /Joseph Sohm, Visions of America back bottom left; /Gustavo Tomsich back centre. Getty/Jeff Foott back top right. Science Photo Library back bottom left.
Author Photograph	--
Published	2008
Published in	Published in the United States by Firefly Books (U.S) Inc. P.O. Box 1338, Ellicott Station Buffalo, New York 14205 Published in Canada by Firefly Books Ltd. 66 Leek Crescent Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1H1
Book Number	???
Publisher	Firefly Books, Ltd.
Copyright	Copyright © 2008 Peter J. Bentley All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or tranmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
Printed	Printed in China
Picture Credits	Corbis: 8, 12, 16, 21, 23, 29, 30, 34, 37, 40, 43, 58, 60, 64, 67, 70, 71, 73, 86, 87, 106 (2), 120, 127, 138, 140, 147, 149, 157, 162, 166, 173, 174, 189, 190 Bridgeman: 7, 77 Mary Evans: 10, 62 akg Images: 36, 38, 79, 80, 102, 110, 122, 127 The Art Archive: 104 Science Photo Library: 114, 115, 137, 139, 143, 148, 154, 155, 159, 162, 199 Topfoto: 133 Walter Callens: 18; Davy G: 28; Daniel Modell: 58; Alan D Thompson: 70; Sanaa Al-Falasi: 89; Emily Harlow: 103; Dr James R Warren: 131
Book Format	Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover
Genre	Nonfiction - Mathematics - Popular Works - Number Theory
Quoted Reviews	--
Best Seller's List	--
Credits	For Cassell Illustrated: Publishing Director: Iain MacGregor Commissioning Editor: Laura Price Editor: Jenny Doubt Creative Director: Geoff Fennell Layout: Keith Williams Production: Caroline Alberti
Other	Bentley, Peter J. The book of numbers / Peter J. Bentley [272] p. : col. photos ; cm. Includes index. Summary: Explores the fascination with numbers and mathematics in every aspect of life from The Da Vinci Code to the Enigma Code, as well as in the digital world. Bentley, Peter J., 1972- The book of numbers / Peter Bentley. Includes index.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data	1. Mathematics — Popular Works.
	2. Number theory — Popular Works.
	I. Title.
CIP Number	--
LC Control Number	--
LC Call Number	QA93.12.B468   2008
DDC Call Number	510 dc22
Library and Archives Canada Cataloging-in-Publication	1. Mathematics — Popular Works.
	2. Number theory — Popular Works.
	I. Title.
CIP Number	--
Library and Archives Control Number	C2007-904540-5
Library and Archives Classification Call Number	QA93.12.B44   2008
Dewey Decimal Classification Call Number	510