Edward Kasner
Encyclopedia
Edward Kasner (City College of New York
1897; Columbia University
M.A., 1897; Columbia University Ph.D.
, 1900) who studied under Cassius Jackson Keyser
, was a prominent American
mathematician
who was appointed Tutor on Mathematics
in the Columbia University Mathematics Department. Kasner was the first Jew appointed to a faculty position in the sciences at Columbia University.
Kasner's Ph.D. dissertation was titled The Invariant Theory of the Inversion Group: Geometry upon a Quadric Surface; it was published by the American Mathematical Society
in 1900 in their Transactions.
with his nephews, Milton (March 8, 1911 - Feb. 1981) and Edwin Sirotta, Kasner asked for their ideas. Nine-year-old Milton suggested "googol."
In 1940, with James R. Newman
, Kasner co-wrote a non-technical book surveying the field of mathematics, called Mathematics and the Imagination (ISBN 0-486-41703-4). It was in this book that the term "googol" was first introduced:
Google
Kasner's number naming legacy includes technology unforeseen in his lifetime. The Internet
search engine "Google
" originated from a misspelling of "googol
", which refers to 10100 (the number represented by a 1 followed by 100-zeros).
The "Googleplex
" is the Google company headquarters, located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County
, California
, near San Jose
.
Googleplex is a play on words for googolplex, the name given by Kasner's nephew to a number with that many zeros that you get tired from counting. Kasner assigned it to the large number:
(the number represented by a 1 followed by a googol of zeros).
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
1897; Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
M.A., 1897; Columbia University Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, 1900) who studied under Cassius Jackson Keyser
Cassius Jackson Keyser
Cassius Jackson Keyser was an American mathematician of pronounced philosophical inclinations.-Life:...
, was a prominent American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who was appointed Tutor on Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in the Columbia University Mathematics Department. Kasner was the first Jew appointed to a faculty position in the sciences at Columbia University.
Kasner's Ph.D. dissertation was titled The Invariant Theory of the Inversion Group: Geometry upon a Quadric Surface; it was published by the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
in 1900 in their Transactions.
Googol
Kasner is perhaps best remembered today for introducing the term "googol." In order to pique the interest of children, Kasner sought a name for a very large number: one followed by a hundred zeros. On a walk in the New Jersey PalisadesNew Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
with his nephews, Milton (March 8, 1911 - Feb. 1981) and Edwin Sirotta, Kasner asked for their ideas. Nine-year-old Milton suggested "googol."
In 1940, with James R. Newman
James R. Newman
James Roy Newman was an American mathematician and mathematical historian. He was also a lawyer, practicing in the state of New York from 1929 to 1941...
, Kasner co-wrote a non-technical book surveying the field of mathematics, called Mathematics and the Imagination (ISBN 0-486-41703-4). It was in this book that the term "googol" was first introduced:
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
search engine "Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
" originated from a misspelling of "googol
Googol
A googol is the large number 10100, that is, the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros:The term was coined in 1938 by 9-year-old Milton Sirotta , nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner...
", which refers to 10100 (the number represented by a 1 followed by 100-zeros).
The "Googleplex
Googleplex
The Googleplex is the corporate headquarters complex of Google, Inc., located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California, United States, near San Jose. "Googleplex" is a portmanteau of Google and complex, and a reference to googolplex, the name given to the large...
" is the Google company headquarters, located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, near San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.
Googleplex is a play on words for googolplex, the name given by Kasner's nephew to a number with that many zeros that you get tired from counting. Kasner assigned it to the large number:
(the number represented by a 1 followed by a googol of zeros).