* Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers (24)

What is your definition of number? The question is a challenging one because defining the abstract idea of number is extremely difficult. More than 2,500 years ago, the great number enthusiast Pythagoras described number as "the first principle, a thing which is undefined, incomprehensible, and having in itself all numbers." Even today, we still struggle with the notion of what numbers mean.

Edward B. Burger
Southwestern University - Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin