Ponderables - MathematicsLegend has it that the first magic square, where all lines and diagonals add up to the same figure, was revealed more than 2,000 years ago when a river turtle appeared to have ancient Chinese numerals inscribed on sections of its shell. Patterns are everywhere in nature, and counting, measuring, and calculating changes are as old as civilisation itself. Here is the essential illustrated guide to mathematics that explores the work of history's greatest