Applying mathematics : immersion, inference, interpretation / Otávio Bueno and Steven French.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bueno, Otávio, author.

Contributor:

French, Steven.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics--Philosophy.

Mathematics.

Science--Mathematics.

Science.

Mathematical physics.

Physical Description:

xvi, 257 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Summary:

How is that when scientists need some piece of mathematics through which to frame their theory, it is there to hand? Bueno and French offer a new approach to the puzzle of the applicability of mathematics, through a detailed examination of a series of case studies from the history of twentieth-century physics.

Contents:

Just how unreasonable is the effectiveness of mathematics?

Approaching models: formal and informal

Scientific representation and the application of mathematics

Applying new mathematics: group theory and quantum mechanics

Representing physical phenomena: top-down and bottom-up

Unifying with mathematics: logic, probability, and quantum states

Applying problematic mathematics, interpreting successful structures: from the Delta function to the positron

Explaining with mathematics? from Cicadas to symmetry

Explaining with mathematics? idealization, universality, and the criteria for explanation

Conclusion: between lazy optimism and unbridled opportunism.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-250) and index.

ISBN:

0198815042

9780198815044

OCLC:

1013944141