Prologue

Ekkehard Kopp adopts a chronological framework to demonstrate that changes in our understanding of numbers have o en relied on the breaking of long-held conven ons, making way for new inven ons that provide greater clarity and widen mathema cal horizons. Viewed from this historical perspec ve, mathema cal abstrac on emerges as neither mysterious nor immutable, but as a con ngent, developing human ac vity.