gimley reviewed Infinitesimal by Amir Alexander
Review of 'Infinitesimal' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Why would something mathematical and obscure be a big deal? Well, mathematics wasn't separate from reality say 500 or so years ago, and neither was religion. It's just like the problem with the scientifically calculated age of the earth not matching what's in the bible. And on top of that, religion wasn't separate from politics so what people believed had consequences for who held the power.
I had thought Newton and Leibniz invented infinitesimals but it turns out they were standing on the shoulders of giants. When those giants were young, the pope found their ideas heretical . Remember how Galileo was imprisoned for saying the earth traveled around the sun? What crazy times they were!
But then, we have a president who doesn't care for science all that much today.