Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.46 (679 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0393339289 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-11-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Fine vendor! No problems whatever" according to Robert E. Litchfield. Fine vendor! No problems whatever!. A Good Read Sorry if this book is an affront to some "Harvard" scholars and "PhD physicists" (or those that pretend to be the above) but for people in the real word, alas I am a lowly engineer, this book is a lot of FUN TO READ. It could even encourage some readers to want to learn more about the topic. I don't understand why some math and science professionals are always insulted when non-science writers, especially one as talented as David Foster Wallace, try their hand at writing on ma. Better as math history Several previous reviewers have touched on the technical weaknesses of this book and those weaknesses can be quite frustrating. However, this is a book intended for broad, public consumption and hence has to take a few liberties. If you ignore the actual math bits and focus on the history bits you will probably find quite a bit to like. That being said, I was still left unsatisfied.The "Wallacisms" are distracting and wearying in this context (as opposed to his fiction). The s
Smart, challenging, and thoroughly rewarding, Wallace's tour de force brings immediate and high-profile recognition to the bizarre and fascinating world of higher mathematics.. "A gripping guide to the modern taming of the infinite."The New York Times. With a new introduction by Neal Stephenson. Is infinity a valid mathematical property or a meaningless abstraction? David Foster Wallace brings his intellectual ambition and characteristic bravura style to the story of how mathematicians have struggled to understand the infinite, from the ancient Greeks to the nineteenth-century mathematical genius Georg Cantor's counterintuitive discovery that there was more than one kind of infinity
--Patrick O’Kelley. Patience is required. One difficulty in his focus on concepts and not a strict human chronology, though, is that his structure is dependent on frequent digressions (especially early on). This volume in the "Great Discoveries" series is not a history of the personalities and social conditions that led to the "discovery" of infinity. Wallace demands that his reader walk through the equations, study the graphs and charts, and relearn college-level concepts to follow along on the exploration. Before discussing the merits of David Foster Wallace's Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, it is essential to define wha