The eBook series Learning about mathematics aims to create for the readers a unificatory image of the complex nature of mathematics, as well as a conceptual perspective ultimately necessary to the holistic understanding of school mathematics. Mathematician and philosopher of science Catalin Barboianu talks about mathematics to convince readers that to understand mathematics means first to understand it as a whole, but also as part of a whole.

This first eBook of the series is dedicated to the concept of number, which is a core concept of mathematics. We deal with numbers in our everyday life and operate them in our mathematical practice, but do we know exactly what numbers are? The eBook deals with the essentials about the arithmetical and logical natures of number and the axiomatic constructions of the known types of numbers (natural, integer, rational, real, and complex) as well as with the philosophical aspects of this mathematical entity.