title: Kepler's Conjecture: How Some of the Greatest Minds in History Helped Solve One of the Oldest Math Problems in the World
author:  George G. Szpiro 
description: &amp;an invigorating affirmation of math's' endless allure, and a neat lesson in why it pays to take nothing for granted&amp; -- <i>New Scientist, 13 September 2003</i><br /><br />&amp;gives an entertaining and readable account of the history of the problem and the attempts to solve it&amp; -- <i>Nature, 11 September 2003</i><br /><br />..the perfect balance of tone between mathematical explanation and historical exposition&amp; -- <i>M2 Best Books, 18 August 2003</i><br /><br />"...an invigorating affirmation of math's endless allure, and a neat lesson in why it pays to take nothing for granted..." -- <i>New Scientist, 13 September 2003</i><br /><br />"...gives an entertaining and readable account of the history of the problem and the attempts to solve it..." (<i>Nature</i>, 11 September 2003)
zlib_text: Jr. Social Biol. Struct. 1982 5,255-266 
  Numerical structuralism and cosmogony in 
  the ancient Near East 
  Robert R. Stieglitz 
  Department of Hebraic Studies, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA 
  The systematic investigation of sexagesimal numbers, by means of reciprocals and 
  ratios, led to a 'dualism' in the numerical theory developed in ancient Mesopotamia. 
  The historical development of mathematical thinking- the mathopoeic mind- 
  resulted in a proto-science, including arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and possibly 
  harmonics, which attempted to formulate a structural theory for the pantheon and 
  cosmos. An exponential matrix, based on sexagesimal considerations, is proposed as 
  a means of exlploring the mathopoeic component in ancient mythology, which 
  often incorporates significant proto-scientific data. Since the mathopoeic mind in 
  Mesopotomian civilization is fully developed by 1750 BC, it is likely that the vast 
  body of data gathered by Near Eastern proto-science served a