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The Great Math War: How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics - Couverture rigide

Bardi, Jason Socrates

 
9781541605008: The Great Math War: How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 1541605004 ISBN 13 : 9781541605008
Editeur : Basic Books, 2025

Synopsis

A "fascinating romp" (Johnjoe McFadden) and stirring account of the mathematicians who went looking for the bedrock philosophical foundations of their field and witnessed a house of cards collapse instead

As the nineteenth century ended, mathematicians were celebrating a century of triumphs that-surprisingly-made clear how little they knew: What is the nature of infinity? Is math free from self-contradiction? And what does math have to do with reality? This was the Foundational Crisis in mathematics.

In The Great Math War, Jason Socrates Bardi tells the story of three competing efforts by mathematicians to resolve it-and the firefight that ensued. Bertrand Russell thought we could achieve certainty if we treated math as an extension of logic. David Hilbert believed redemption lay in accepting mathematics as a formal game of arbitrary rules, no different from the moves and pieces in chess. And L. E. J. Brouwer argued math is entirely rooted in human intuition-and that math is not based on logic but rather logic is based on math. It was a bitter struggle, intellectually and personally, as the three vied to set the course for mathematics in the twentieth century.

Set against the backdrop of international warfare unfolding alongside it, The Great Math War brings the Foundational Crisis to radiant life-and shows how it indelibly shaped twentieth-century intellectual life.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

À propos de l'auteur

Jason Socrates Bardi is an award-winning journalist in DC who has written two books about the history of math: The Calculus Wars and The Fifth Postulate. He has published hundreds of articles about modern science and medicine in outlets including the San Francisco Chronicle, Good Morning America, US News & World Report, and The Lancet. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Basic Books
Date d'édition
2025
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1541605004
ISBN 13 
9781541605008
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
384
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible