What Is Mathematics Really

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198027362
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book What Is Mathematics, Really? written by Reuben Hersh and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-08-21 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most philosophers of mathematics treat it as isolated, timeless, ahistorical, inhuman. Reuben Hersh argues the contrary, that mathematics must be understood as a human activity, a social phenomenon, part of human culture, historically evolved, and intelligible only in a social context. Hersh pulls the screen back to reveal mathematics as seen by professionals, debunking many mathematical myths, and demonstrating how the "humanist" idea of the nature of mathematics more closely resembles how mathematicians actually work. At the heart of his book is a fascinating historical account of the mainstream of philosophy--ranging from Pythagoras, Descartes, and Spinoza, to Bertrand Russell, David Hilbert, and Rudolph Carnap--followed by the mavericks who saw mathematics as a human artifact, including Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Mill, and Lakatos. What is Mathematics, Really? reflects an insider's view of mathematical life, and will be hotly debated by anyone with an interest in mathematics or the philosophy of science.

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199839395
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book What Is Mathematics, Really? written by Reuben Hersh and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-08-21 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most philosophers of mathematics treat it as isolated, timeless, ahistorical, inhuman. Reuben Hersh argues the contrary, that mathematics must be understood as a human activity, a social phenomenon, part of human culture, historically evolved, and intelligible only in a social context. Hersh pulls the screen back to reveal mathematics as seen by professionals, debunking many mathematical myths, and demonstrating how the "humanist" idea of the nature of mathematics more closely resembles how mathematicians actually work. At the heart of his book is a fascinating historical account of the mainstream of philosophy--ranging from Pythagoras, Descartes, and Spinoza, to Bertrand Russell, David Hilbert, and Rudolph Carnap--followed by the mavericks who saw mathematics as a human artifact, including Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Mill, and Lakatos. What is Mathematics, Really? reflects an insider's view of mathematical life, and will be hotly debated by anyone with an interest in mathematics or the philosophy of science.

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780195130874
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book What is Mathematics, Really? written by Reuben Hersh and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tries to refine the philosophy of mathematics to reflect what mathematicians really do, and argues that mathematics must be understood in a social context.

Author : Richard Courant
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780195105193
Total Pages : 596 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

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Download or read book What is Mathematics? written by Richard Courant and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1996 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The teaching and learning of mathematics has degenerated into the realm of rote memorization, the outcome of which leads to satisfactory formal ability but not real understanding or greater intellectual independence. The new edition of this classic work seeks to address this problem. Its goal is to put the meaning back into mathematics. "Lucid . . . easily understandable".--Albert Einstein. 301 linecuts.

Author : Jordan Ellenberg
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143127535
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.36/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How Not to Be Wrong written by Jordan Ellenberg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Witty, compelling, and just plain fun to read . . ." —Evelyn Lamb, Scientific American The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn’t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It’s a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion” really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN 13 : 082189420X
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Experiencing Mathematics written by Reuben Hersh and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2013-12-24 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part IV. About the author -- An amusing elementary example -- Annotated research bibliography -- Curriculum vitae -- List of articles -- Index -- Back Cover

Author : Francis Su
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300237138
Total Pages : 287 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mathematics for Human Flourishing written by Francis Su and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-07 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.

Author : Thomas A. Garrity
Publisher : 清华大学出版社有限公司
ISBN 13 : 9787302090854
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.58/5 ( download)

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Download or read book All the Mathematics You Missed written by Thomas A. Garrity and published by 清华大学出版社有限公司. This book was released on 2004 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 9781400836116
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Loving and Hating Mathematics written by Reuben Hersh and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-12-13 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematics is often thought of as the coldest expression of pure reason. But few subjects provoke hotter emotions--and inspire more love and hatred--than mathematics. And although math is frequently idealized as floating above the messiness of human life, its story is nothing if not human; often, it is all too human. Loving and Hating Mathematics is about the hidden human, emotional, and social forces that shape mathematics and affect the experiences of students and mathematicians. Written in a lively, accessible style, and filled with gripping stories and anecdotes, Loving and Hating Mathematics brings home the intense pleasures and pains of mathematical life. These stories challenge many myths, including the notions that mathematics is a solitary pursuit and a "young man's game," the belief that mathematicians are emotionally different from other people, and even the idea that to be a great mathematician it helps to be a little bit crazy. Reuben Hersh and Vera John-Steiner tell stories of lives in math from their very beginnings through old age, including accounts of teaching and mentoring, friendships and rivalries, love affairs and marriages, and the experiences of women and minorities in a field that has traditionally been unfriendly to both. Included here are also stories of people for whom mathematics has been an immense solace during times of crisis, war, and even imprisonment--as well as of those rare individuals driven to insanity and even murder by an obsession with math. This is a book for anyone who wants to understand why the most rational of human endeavors is at the same time one of the most emotional.

Author : Reuben Hersh
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195130871
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book What is Mathematics, Really? written by Reuben Hersh and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tries to refine the philosophy of mathematics to reflect what mathematicians really do, and argues that mathematics must be understood in a social context.