The Loom of God: Tapestries of Mathematics and Mysticism

410 Pages·2009·8 MB·English

by  Clifford A. Pickover

Praise for The Loom of God

“Pickover’s lively, provocative travel guide takes readers into the fascinating
realm of mystic math, from perfectly strange numbers to fractured geometries
and other curious nooks and crannies of ancient worlds and modern times.”
—Ivars Peterson, Science News
“Chock full of mathematical treats, The Loom of God takes you on a trip which
explores ideas in a totally non-threatening, enjoyable format. … A must for the
I-hate-math person as well as the mathematical explorer.”
—Theoni Pappas, author of The Joy of Mathematics
“From Pythagoras and his strange beliefs (‘Don’t eat food that causes you to
flatulate’) to Goedel’s mathematical proof of the existence of God, Pickover
guides the reader through the history of metaphysical logic.… Playful and
surreal, The Loom of God is accessible to anyone who’s mastered long
division.”
—Discover magazine
“Thought-provoking, entertaining, eerie, magical, and lively are words that
describe The Loom of God, which weaves number theory, geometry, and
computer power into a beautiful tapestry of numerology, fractals, and a fantasy
of our world’s future. Distinctive … dazzling … unconventional … great for
recreational enrichment reading.”
—Mathematics Teacher
“Without peer as an idea machine, Cliff Pickover proves equally adept at
writing. The Loom of God is a well-crafted piece of mathematical science
fiction.”
—Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
“In The Loom of God, Cliff Pickover, in his irrepressible style, frolics through a
forest of mathematical curiosities and historical tidbits, all skillfully woven into
a futuristic fantasy, leaving you to wonder where he learned all that.”
—Julien C. Sprott, Professor of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison
“This book mixes science and philosophy with a large dash of humor, a cupful of
religion, a teaspoon of whimsy.… Pickover hops from Pythagoras, the Incas,
Stonehenge, Kabala, chakras, St. Augustine, and fractals with abandon.… By the
way, if you’d like to note it in your planner, mathematics tell us the End of the
World is scheduled for August 15, 2126. Be there or be square.”
—American Reporter
Praise for Clifford A. Pickover

“I can’t imagine anybody whose mind won’t be stretched by [Pickover’s] books
…”
—Arthur C. Clarke
“Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover
outdoes them both,”
—WIRED
“Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying
machines and create new Mona Lisas,”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of
computers, art, and thought.”
—Los Angeles Times
“In recent years, Pickover has taken up the helm once worn by Isaac Asimov as
the most compelling popular explainer of cutting-edge scientific ideas.”
—In Pittsburgh
“Pickover just seems to exist in more dimensions than the rest of us.”
—Ian Stewart, Scientific American
“Pickover is van Leeuwenhoek’s 20th century equivalent.”
—OMNI
“A perpetual idea machine, Clifford Pickover is one of the most creative,
original thinkers in the world today.”
—journal of Recreational Mathematics
“Clifford A. Pickover is the heir apparent to Carl Sagan: no one else does better
popular science writing than Pickover.”
—Robert J. Sawyer, Nebula Award winner, author of Calculating God
“Add two doses of Isaac Asimov, and one dose each of Martin Gardner and Carl
Sagan, and you get Clifford Pickover, one of the most entertaining and thought-
provoking writers of our time.”
—Michael Shermer, Skeptic
THE LOOM OF GOD
Selected Works by Clifford A. Pickover

The Alien IQ Test
Archimedes to Hawking
A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality
Black Holes: A Traveler’s Guide
Calculus and Pizza
Chaos and Fractals
Chaos in Wonderland
Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty
Computers and the Imagination
Cryptorunes: Codes and Secret Writing
Dreaming the Future
Future Health
Fractal Horizons: The Future Use of Fractals
Frontiers of Scientific Visualization
The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits
The Heaven Virus
Keys to Infinity
The Mathematics of Oz
Mazes for the Mind: Computers and the Unexpected
The Möbius Strip
The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience
A Passion for Mathematics
The Pattern Book: Fractals, Art, and Nature
The Science of Aliens
Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves
Spiral Symmetry (with Istvan Hargittai)
Strange Brains and Genius
The Stars of Heaven
Surfing Through Hyperspace
Time: A Traveler’s Guide
Visions of the Future
Visualizing Biological Information
Wonders of Numbers
The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars
THE LOOM OF GOD
Tapestries of Mathematics
and Mysticism

CLIFFORD A. PICKOVER
New York / London
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

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Published in 2009 by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
Originally published in 1997 in hardcover as The Loom of God: Mathematical
Tapestries at the Edge of Time
by Plenum Trade, New York and London
© 1997 by Clifford A. Pickover
Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing
c/o Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6
Distributed in the United Kingdom by GMC Distribution Services
Castle Place, 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England BN7 1XU
Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty Ltd.
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Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-6400-4

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