Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel (Great Discoveries Series) by Rebecca Goldstein
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: February 2005
- 288pp
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: February 2005
- Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
- Format: Hardcover, 288pp
- Series: Great Discoveries Series
- ISBN-13: 9780393051698
- ISBN: 0393051692
Synopsis
"A gem. . . . An unforgettable account of one of the great moments in the history of human thought."
-Steven Pinker
Annotation
"An introduction to the life and thought of Kurt Gčodel, who transformed our conception of math forever"--Provided by publisher.
Publishers Weekly
Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, which proved that no formal mathematical system can demonstrate every mathematical truth, is a landmark of modern thought. It's a simple but profound statement, but the technicalities of Godel's proof are forbidding. If MacArthur Fellow and Whiting-winning novelist and philosopher Goldstein (The Mind-Body Problem) doesn't quite succeed in explaining the proof's mechanics to lay readers, she does a magnificent job of exploring its rich philosophical implications. Postmodernists have appropriated it to undermine science's claims of certainty, objectivity and rationality, but Godel insisted, to the contrary, that the theorem buttresses a Platonist conception of a transcendent mathematical reality that exists independent of human logic. Goldstein is an excellent choice for this installment of Norton's Great Discoveries series, which seeks to explain the ways of science to humanists. Her philosophical background makes her a sure guide to the underlying ideas, and she brings a novelistic depth of character and atmosphere to her account of the positivist intellectual milieu surrounding Godel (including a caustic portrait of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein) and to her sympathetic depiction of the logician's tortured psyche, as his relentless search for logical patterns behind life's contingencies gradually darkened into paranoia. The result is a stimulating exploration of both the power and the limitations of the human intellect. Photos. Agent, Tina Bennett. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN is the author of Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel and of six works of fi ction. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she has received many awards for her fiction and scholarship, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. She lives in Massachusetts.
More About the AuthorCustomer Reviews
An excerpt from the Corcoran-Hicks review in MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS.by Frango_Nabrasa
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May 02, 2009: The author is a prestigious MacArthur "genius" Fellow and the book has been praised by other writers and by logicians including Martin Davis and Gregory Chaitin. Surprisingly, it is a tediously disappointing read. The vocabulary alone is enough to deter readers: arrant, fey, coruscated, frontisquotes, monologicism, asperity, epigone, limpid, metaconclusion, metaquestion, metaconviction, metalight, imbibition, bruiting, veridical, stintless, eschatological, fractious, ensconced, valetudinarian, and ichor. Stunningly inept images pervade the book. Here is one example. "Think of it this way, if you care to: Axioms are like the classic first-borns in families: adored simply for being. Theorems are the children that come after, those who have to prove themselves worthy to gain acceptance."
One of the most excellent popular math book I've readby Anonymous
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August 12, 2008: Most books on esoteric branches of math are either dry works just presenting an overview of the area in technical terms or are 'Gee Whiz!' so superficial they do little to show the true beauty of the topic. Rebecca Goldstein's book is a joyful exception. She does a wonderful job of providing insight into how and why Godel's work changed our understanding of some of the most fundamental concepts of mathematical reality. Her description of Godel's character and personality is very insightful. She is also a master of the English language - This book would be worth reading just for her precise but flowing descriptions, even if the subject matter weren't so fascinating.
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