Science · Similar reads

Books like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

The best books like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea are A Brief History of Time, A Universe from Nothing, and The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife is about mathematics, history of ideas, infinity. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. A Brief History of Time
    A Brief History of Time

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    A Brief History of Time

    Stephen Hawking · Science

    A Brief History of Time is Stephen Hawking's attempt to explain the biggest questions in physics — where the universe came from, how it behaves, and where it might be going — to readers with no scientific training.

    A kindred science read.

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  2. A Universe from Nothing
    A Universe from Nothing

    02

    A Universe from Nothing

    Lawrence M. Krauss · Science

    A Universe from Nothing is Lawrence Krauss's argument that modern physics has resolved, or at least reframed, the ancient philosophical question of why there is something rather than nothing.

    A kindred science read.

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  3. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
    The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

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    The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

    James Gleick · Science

    The Information traces the history of information — as a concept, a technology, and a way of understanding the universe — from the talking drums of West Africa through the telegraph, the printing press, the telephone, and into the digital age.

    A kindred science read.

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  1. Fermat's Enigma
    Fermat's Enigma

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    Fermat's Enigma

    Simon Singh · Science

    In 1637, Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a mathematics book claiming to have found a proof that no three positive integers can satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer value of n greater than 2 — but that the margin was too narrow to contain it.

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  2. Our Mathematical Universe
    Our Mathematical Universe

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    Our Mathematical Universe

    Max Tegmark · Science

    Our Mathematical Universe is Max Tegmark's argument for what he calls the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis: the bold claim that the universe is not merely described by mathematics but is a mathematical structure.

    Shares mathematics and physics with Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea.

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  3. Chaos: Making a New Science
    Chaos: Making a New Science

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    Chaos: Making a New Science

    James Gleick · Science

    Chaos: Making a New Science, published in 1987, tells the story of how a loose network of scientists working across meteorology, mathematics, biology, and physics in the 1960s and 1970s developed chaos theory — the study of systems that are deterministic but unpredictable because tiny differences in initial conditions produce wildly different outcomes.

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  4. Deep Learning
    Deep Learning

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    Deep Learning

    Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville · Science

    Deep Learning by Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville is the standard graduate-level textbook on the mathematical and computational foundations of deep neural networks.

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  5. How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
    How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

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    How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

    Jordan Ellenberg · Science

    Jordan Ellenberg is a research mathematician who writes as if mathematics is something you would want to think about over dinner.

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  6. Is God a Mathematician?
    Is God a Mathematician?

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    Is God a Mathematician?

    Mario Livio · Science

    Mario Livio is an astrophysicist who has spent decades studying galaxies and supernovae, and who has been persistently haunted by a question that comes up whenever mathematics meets physics: why does abstract math, invented centuries before anyone knew it would be needed, keep turning out to perfectly describe physical reality?

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  7. Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning
    Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning

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    Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning

    Aleksandrov, Kolmogorov & Lavrent'ev · Science

    Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning is a three-volume survey of mathematics compiled by a group of eminent Soviet mathematicians, originally published in Russian in 1956 and translated into English by the American Mathematical Society in 1963.

    Both dig into mathematics.

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  8. Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You
    Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You

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    Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You

    Marcus Chown · Science

    Marcus Chown, a former radio astronomer and longtime science writer, takes two of the most counterintuitive theories in physics — quantum mechanics and special relativity — and presents them in a single short book aimed squarely at readers who find both intimidating.

    Both dig into physics.

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  9. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
    Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

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    Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

    Carlo Rovelli · Science

    Carlo Rovelli, a theoretical physicist best known for his work on loop quantum gravity, wrote this book originally as a series of essays for an Italian Sunday newspaper.

    Both dig into physics.

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Books like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea: quick answers

What are the best books like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea?

The best books like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife are A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick, Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh, Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, such as mathematics, history of ideas, infinity.

What should I read after Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea?

A natural next read after Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. A kindred science read. Other strong choices are A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick, Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh.

What books are similar to Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife?

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea centers on mathematics, history of ideas, infinity. Books with a similar feel include A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick, Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh, Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark, Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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