- Hardcover: 440 pages
- Publisher: Birkhauser (April 1982)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 376433018X
- ISBN-13: 978-3764330187
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.8 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,058,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
We tend to think of mathematics as uniquely rigorous, and of mathematicians as supremely smart. In his introduction to The Mathematical Experience, Gian-Carlo Rota notes that instead, "a mathematician's work is mostly a tangle of guesswork, analogy, wishful thinking and frustration, and proof ... is more often than not a way of making sure that our minds are not playing tricks." Philip Davis and Reuben Hersh discuss everything from the nature of proof to the Euclid myth, and mathematical aesthetics to non-Cantorian set theory. They make a convincing case for the idea that mathematics is not about eternal reality, but comprises "true facts about imaginary objects" and belongs among the human sciences.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"A brilliant and engrossing view of the development of mathematics...wonderful at communicating its beauty and excitement to the general reader." (The New York Times )
"A perfectly marvelous book." (The New Yorker )
"A true gem, one of the masterpieces of our age." (American Monthly ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"A perfectly marvelous book." (The New Yorker )
"A true gem, one of the masterpieces of our age." (American Monthly ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic,
By J. Jenkins (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mathematical Experience (Paperback)
Fantastic discussion of the real nature of mathematics, it covers a huge amount of territory and contains a lot of musings. The gist of it is that platonism is a mirage, mathematics being the science of all patterns and logic, it is not some abstract nonentity existing in an abstract world or cave (cf. Plato, or Penrose) but merely the distillation of all abstract thought and rules, as observed my mankind. Some very interesting recent mathematics theorems and discoveries make it really different from the usual philosophical approaches to math analysis. A very intelligent and rewarding book, worth reading a few times to grasp all the contents, and quite long (I compare with books today which stop at about 300 pp.) to boot!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Math is People,
By Chris McKinstry (South America) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mathematical Experience (Paperback)
Math, like any subject can be studied from the point of view of conceptual constructions or from from that of the people that did the constructing. This is absolutely a people first book.If this were used in high school math, the world would have far, far fewer mathphobes. If you're a mathphobe, the cure is in these pages.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent dialog on the development of mathematics..,
By Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mathematical Experience (Paperback)
This book was a sheer joy to read and digest. The authors skilfully comingle history, mathematics, philosophy, and biography. The result is a truly fantastic voyage into the meaning and gist of discovery and conjecture. In chapter after chapter important ideas like Fourier analysis, Non-Cantorian Set Theory, and Objects and Structures are scrutinized in a very interesting manner. The deeper you go into the book the more will you revel in the sheer majesty and scope of the topics. I had to read the chapter on Inner Issues twice to really get everything out of the text. Topics such as Teaching and Learning are very insightful and full of little hidden gems. If you are prepared to expend some effort and if you wish to know what mathematics "really is like", grab this book. I am sure this will become a permanent treasure in your library and you will peruse it often long into the night.
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