How Long to Read Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things

How Long Does it Take to Read Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things?

It takes the average reader 6 hours and 25 minutes to read Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things by Andrew Simoson

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Did you know that Voltaire was the first to publish the legend of Isaac Newton discovering gravity upon seeing an apple fall? That he tried for about eight years to be a mathematician? That in 1752 he wrote Micromégas, a story about a French expedition to the arctic (1736-7) whose purpose was to test Newton's controversial theories about gravity? This book is about that story and its underlying mathematics. In summary, an alien giant visits earth and encounters the expedition returning from north of the Baltic Sea. Their ensuing dialogue ranges from measurements of the very small to the very large, from gnats and microorganisms to planets and stars, from man's tendency to make war to dreams of understanding his own spirit. At the end of their conversation, the giant gives man a book with the answers to all things. But when they open it, it is blank. That is the riddle of this book. What does such an ending mean? As a series of vignettes and chapters, the author gives some riddle resolutions. The vignettes (requiring no special mathematics knowledge) describe the people, traditions, and events of the expedition and story. The chapters (accessible to anyone with a background in undergraduate linear algebra, vector calculus, and differential equations) show why a rotating earth must be flattened at the poles, why the tip of the earth's polar axis traces out a curve with period of nearly twenty-six thousand years, why the path of a small black hole dropped at the earth's equator must be a hypocycloid, why an old problem studied by Maupertuis (the leader of the French expedition) is a pursuit curve, and why in measuring phenomena we sometimes get it wrong. All in all, this book is a case study in how mathematical and scientific knowledge becomes common knowledge.

How long is Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things?

Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things by Andrew Simoson is 382 pages long, and a total of 96,264 words.

This makes it 129% the length of the average book. It also has 118% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 8 hours and 46 minutes to read Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things aloud.

What Reading Level is Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things?

Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things?

Voltaire’s Riddle: Micromégas and the Measure of All Things by Andrew Simoson is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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