The great math war: how three brilliant minds fought for the foundations of mathematics / Jason Socrates Bardi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bardi, Jason Socrates, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mathematics--Philosophy.

Mathematics.

Mathematics--History--20th century.

Mathematics--History.

Brouwer, L. E. J. (Luitzen Egbertus Jan), 1881-1966.

Brouwer, L. E. J.

Hilbert, David, 1862-1943.

Hilbert, David.

Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970.

Russell, Bertrand.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xix, 394 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

How 3 brilliant minds fought for the foundations of mathematics

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Basic Books, [2025]

Biography/History:

Jason Socrates Bardi is an award-winning journalist in DC who has written two books about the history of math: The Calculus Wars and The Fifth Postulate. He has published hundreds of articles about modern science and medicine in outlets including the San Francisco Chronicle, Good Morning America, US News & World Report, and The Lancet.

Summary:

"As the nineteenth century ended, mathematicians were celebrating a century of triumphs that--surprisingly--made clear how little they knew: What is the nature of infinity? Is math free from self-contradiction? And what does math have to do with reality? This was the Foundational Crisis in mathematics. In The Great Math War, Jason Socrates Bardi tells the story of three competing efforts by mathematicians to resolve it--and the firefight that ensued. Bertrand Russell thought we could achieve certainty if we treated math as an extension of logic. David Hilbert believed redemption lay in accepting mathematics as a formal game of arbitrary rules, no different from the moves and pieces in chess. And L. E. J. Brouwer argued math is entirely rooted in human intuition--and that math is not based on logic but rather logic is based on math. It was a bitter struggle, intellectually and personally, as the three vied to set the course for mathematics in the twentieth century. Set against the backdrop of international warfare unfolding alongside it, The Great Math War brings the Foundational Crisis to radiant life--and shows how it indelibly shaped twentieth-century intellectual life." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Dramatis Personae

Preface: Everything My Parents Taught Me About Logic

1900 : The Judgment of Paris

Adventures of a Wooden Puppet : 1883-1884

Infinity Loves Company : 1884-1899

Guns, Gold, add the Gruesome Math of War : 1899-1902

All Cretans Are Liars : 1903-1911

The Day of Judgment : 1909-1911

Airplanes and Sunshine : 1912-1913

Boston Loves Bernie : 1912-1913

1914 : The Sins of August

Relativity + Turnips : 1915-1916

Collective Influenza : 1917-1918

All Eyes on Albert Einstein : 1919-1920

The Pied Piper of Paradise : 1921-1924

Nobody Loves a Revolution : 1924-1928

1928 : The Battle of the Frogs and Mice

Goodbye to All Math : 1929-1932

The Great Migration : 1933-1935

∀Things ∃nd : 1935-1938

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1541605004

9781541605008

OCLC:

1547929915

Publisher Number:

90103128601

CIPO000292185