One Two Three... Infinity

Overview

Beginning with an exploration of elementary numbers, the book opens with a description of the "Hottentots" (Khoikhoi), said to have words only for "one", "two", "three", and "many", and builds quickly to explore Georg Cantor's theory of three levels of infinity—hence the title of the book. It then describes a simple automatic printing press that can in principle (given enough paper, ink, and time) print all the English works that have ever been, or ever will be, printed (a more-systematic version of the infinite monkey theorem). The author notes that if all the atoms in the Universe, as known in Gamow's time, were such printing presses working in parallel "at the speed of atomic vibrations" since the beginning of known time, only an infinitesimal fraction of the job could have yet been completed.

Gamow explores number theory, topology, spacetime, relativity, atomic chemistry, nuclear physics, entropy, genetics, and cosmology.

Reception

Science writer Willy Ley praised Gamow's book, describing it as an "admittedly rare ... book which entertains by way of instruction." Kirkus Reviews declared it "a stimulating and provocative book for the science-minded layman". Theoretical physicist Sean M. Carroll credited One Two Three... Infinity with setting the trajectory of his professional life. Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker read the book as a child, and has cited it as contributing to his interest in popular science writing. Astrophysicist and science popularizer Neil deGrasse Tyson identified One Two Three... Infinity as one of two books which had the greatest impact on him, the other being Edward Kasner and James Newman's Mathematics and the Imagination.