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One Two Three... Infinity

1947 book by George Gamow

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ5406371
Source-derived summary

One Two Three... Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science is a popular science book by theoretical physicist George Gamow. The book explores a wide range of fundamental concepts in mathematics and science, written at a level understandable by middle school students up through "intelligent layman" adults. It was first published in 1947, with several new additions over the next decades, and as of 2026 it could still be readily accessed through various electronic formats. The book includes many handmade illustrations by Gamow.

Synopsis

The 340-page book has four parts (marked I, II, III, and IV) and eleven chapters. In the preface, the shortness of the last part is attributed to the prior coverage in Gamow's previous books The Birth and Death of the Sun and Biography of the Earth. There are 128 illustrations that Gamow drew, "topologically transformed" from works by "numerous artists and illustrators", thanked by Gamow in the preface. A four-page index is included.

In 1961 a new edition was published.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “One Two Three... Infinity” as 1947 book by George Gamow. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1947, 2026, 1961—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1947, 1961, 1988—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Three, Infinity and book can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1947 book by George Gamow. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5406371. None of the 4 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1947, 2026 and 1961.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “One Two Three... Infinity”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow One Two Three... Infinity primary sources, One Two Three... Infinity archive and Three research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “One Two Three... Infinity”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from One Two Three... Infinity” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.