- Paperback: 364 pages
- Publisher: James R Meyer Publishing (May 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 190670600X
- ISBN-13: 978-1906706005
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 558 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,033,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
The question "What is truth?" is a question that Ralph McNeil, a down-to-earth engineering student, has never before had cause to ponder. But when he encounters a famous theorem (Gödel's 'Incompleteness Theorem') which poses a seemingly unsolvable puzzle about the very meaning of truth itself, he becomes convinced against all the prevailing wisdom that the theorem must be wrong, despite the fact that it has been accepted as correct for over seventy-five years. He sets out on a journey to prove it wrong, a journey that becomes a quest to seek out the truth about truth itself. As he pursues his mission, we see into the heart and mind of Kurt Gödel, the enigmatic character who first posed the theorem - a man who won acclaim as the greatest logician of his time, but a man tortured by his own deep mystical convictions, convictions that would eventually drive him to the brink of insanity. Fact and fiction, past and present are intertwined in a compelling story of love, intrigue, deception and death that leads to a startling conclusion that will change forever the way the world understands the concept of truth.
From the Publisher
There has never been a novel like this. Ever.
The author sweeps convention aside in a book that is set to become one of the most talked about books of the year.
In the present, the novel depicts the struggle of one man (Ralph McNeil) to prove a theorem wrong (Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem) against the prevailing wisdom that has accepted it as being correct for over seventy-five years. In the past, the novel depicts Kurt Gödel, the man who conceived the theorem, as we have never seen him depicted before. Instead of the conventional picture of a man so immersed in abstract thought that he is removed from reality, we see a man with ordinary human frailties - a man plagued by insecurity and self-doubt, a man who had doubts about his own famous theorem while others were applauding it.
James R Meyer manages to combine literature and logic, wit and rigour, emotion and cold fact in a way that has never been done before. As well as being an entertaining novel in its own right, The Shackles of Conviction is a profound contemplation of the meaning of truth. Meyer’s great achievement is the way he is able to make Gödel’s theorem easy to understand without losing any of its essence, covering an astonishing amount of material while telling a moving human story.
All in all, a remarkable achievement. It dusts away layers of accumulated wisdom to bring a fresh insight into the meaning of things that were thought to be fixed in stone. By the end of this book, you will never be able to look at the word ‘truth’ in the same way again. Ever.
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2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A COMPLETE MISUNDERSTANDING OF GÖDEL'S THEOREM
Aug 16 2008
Format:Paperback
I must confess this was a pleasant read although I became annoyed by the absurd claims the author and publisher makes about Gödel's theorem by means of the novel's main character, the student Ralph McNeil.
Contrary to what he claims in the preface, the author is essentially misguided about Gödel's famous result and his contention to have disproved it is ridiculous. There are errors even in his exposition of the theorem.
So, the reader may really enjoy the novel but should not take the mathematical claims of its main character too seriously. My advise: take it as complete fiction and enjoy it as such.
Contrary to what he claims in the preface, the author is essentially misguided about Gödel's famous result and his contention to have disproved it is ridiculous. There are errors even in his exposition of the theorem.
So, the reader may really enjoy the novel but should not take the mathematical claims of its main character too seriously. My advise: take it as complete fiction and enjoy it as such.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
I have to agree with the other review that Meyer misunderstands Gödel's thought
July 12 2011
Format:Paperback
The author is a veterinarian turned engineer later in life. I really wish he had perhaps studied a bit more logic and philosophy before writing this book. He couldn't dismantle Gödel's theorems in scholarly journals so he instead chose fiction to discredit Gödel much like Voltaire "discrediting" Leibniz. Both took their work to the masses (with fiction) rather than peer reviewed non-fiction. The masses don't know the subtleties that scholars do who understand that Gödel and Leibniz's philosophies are richer than portrayed and are much harder to dismantle. But unlike Voltaire's work, however, I am confident this book will fade away as a forgotten memory where high school art projects and other nihilistic works of mediocrity go to die. I encourage anyone mildly interested in the debate to google "A Review of FFGIT" by Russell O'Connor :)
To Meyer's credit he did write a paper, but it's reception has been the type of reception the paper "Proof that the Earth is Hollow" got when it was published.
To Meyer's credit he did write a paper, but it's reception has been the type of reception the paper "Proof that the Earth is Hollow" got when it was published.
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