Everything And More: A Compact History Of Infinity (Great Discoveries) - Softcover

Wallace, David Foster

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393326292 ISBN 13: 9780393326291

Verlag: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

The award-winning author of Infinite Jest considers the paradoxical nature of infinity, considering whether or not it is mathematically plausible or just an abstract concept, and examining the work of Georg Cantor as it contributed to the development of set theory, analytic philosophy, and computer technology. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

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Reseña del editor

One of the outstanding voices of his generation, David Foster Wallace has won a large and devoted following for the intellectual ambition and bravura style of his fiction and essays. Now he brings his considerable talents to the history of one of math's most enduring puzzles: the seemingly paradoxical nature of infinity. Is infinity a valid mathematical property or a meaningless abstraction? The nineteenth-century mathematical genius Georg Cantor's answer to this question not only surprised him but also shook the very foundations upon which math had been built. Cantor's counterintuitive discovery of a progression of larger and larger infinities created controversy in his time and may have hastened his mental breakdown, but it also helped lead to the development of set theory, analytic philosophy, and even computer technology. 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.

Reseña del editor

Exploring the history of one of math's most enduring puzzles, this book deals with the seemingly paradoxical nature of infinity. Is infinity a valid mathematical property or a meaningless abstraction? Wallace's book raises the profile of the bizarre and fascinating world of higher mathematics.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0393326292
• ISBN 13: 9780393326291
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar