Proof : the art and science of certainty / Adam Kucharski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kucharski, Adam (Mathematician), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Proof theory--Popular works.

Proof theory.

Logic, Symbolic and mathematical--Popular works.

Logic, Symbolic and mathematical.

Belief and doubt--Popular works.

Belief and doubt.

Uncertainty--Mathematical models--Popular works.

Uncertainty.

Errors, Scientific--Popular works.

Errors, Scientific.

Genre:

Popular works.

Physical Description:

357 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First US hardcover edition.

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, 2025.

Summary:

"An award-winning mathematician shows how we prove what's true, and what to do when we can't. How do we establish what we believe? And how can we be certain that what we believe is true? And how do we convince other people that it is true? For thousands of years, from the ancient Greeks to the Arabic golden age to the modern world, science has used different methods--logical, empirical, intuitive, and more--to separate fact from fiction. But it all had the same goal: find perfect evidence and be rewarded with universal truth. As mathematician Adam Kucharski shows, however, there is far more to proof than axioms, theories, and laws: when demonstrating that a new medical treatment works, persuading a jury of someone's guilt, or deciding whether you trust a self-driving car, the weighing up of evidence is far from simple. To discover proof, we must reach into a thicket of errors and biases and embrace uncertainty--and never more so than when existing methods fail. Spanning mathematics, science, politics, philosophy, and economics, this book offers the ultimate exploration of how we can find our way to proof--and, just as importantly, of how to go forward when supposed facts falter"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The national axioms

Logic makes mathematical monsters

One hundred guilty and one innocent

Tasting statistical tea and brewing scientific beer

Paradigm rifts

Big lies

In machines we trust

How much do we lose?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-342) and index.

ISBN:

9781541606692

1541606698

OCLC:

1455107299