Abstraction and Infinity

Abstraction and Infinity PDF Author: Paolo Mancosu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198746822
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Mancosu offers an original investigation of key notions in mathematics: abstraction and infinity, and their interaction. He gives a historical analysis of the theorizing of definitions by abstraction, and explores a novel approach to measuring the size of infinite sets, showing how this leads to deep mathematical and philosophical problems.

Abstraction and Infinity

Abstraction and Infinity PDF Author: Paolo Mancosu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198746822
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Get Book Here

Book Description
Mancosu offers an original investigation of key notions in mathematics: abstraction and infinity, and their interaction. He gives a historical analysis of the theorizing of definitions by abstraction, and explores a novel approach to measuring the size of infinite sets, showing how this leads to deep mathematical and philosophical problems.

Abstraction and Infinity

Abstraction and Infinity PDF Author: Paolo Mancosu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191063800
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Paolo Mancosu provides an original investigation of historical and systematic aspects of the notions of abstraction and infinity and their interaction. A familiar way of introducing concepts in mathematics rests on so-called definitions by abstraction. An example of this is Hume's Principle, which introduces the concept of number by stating that two concepts have the same number if and only if the objects falling under each one of them can be put in one-one correspondence. This principle is at the core of neo-logicism. In the first two chapters of the book, Mancosu provides a historical analysis of the mathematical uses and foundational discussion of definitions by abstraction up to Frege, Peano, and Russell. Chapter one shows that abstraction principles were quite widespread in the mathematical practice that preceded Frege's discussion of them and the second chapter provides the first contextual analysis of Frege's discussion of abstraction principles in section 64 of the Grundlagen. In the second part of the book, Mancosu discusses a novel approach to measuring the size of infinite sets known as the theory of numerosities and shows how this new development leads to deep mathematical, historical, and philosophical problems. The final chapter of the book explore how this theory of numerosities can be exploited to provide surprisingly novel perspectives on neo-logicism.

Naming Infinity

Naming Infinity PDF Author: Loren Graham
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674032934
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The intellectual drama will attract readers who are interested in mystical religion and the foundations of mathematics. The personal drama will attract readers who are interested in a human tragedy with characters who met their fates with exceptional courage--Freeman Dyson.

The Logic of Infinity

The Logic of Infinity PDF Author: Barnaby Sheppard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107058317
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
This book conveys to the novice the big ideas in the rigorous mathematical theory of infinite sets.

Levels of Infinity

Levels of Infinity PDF Author: Hermann Weyl
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486266931
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Original anthology features less-technical essays discussing logic, topology, abstract algebra, relativity theory, and the works of David Hilbert. Most have been long unavailable or previously unpublished in book form. 2012 edition.

Beyond Infinity

Beyond Infinity PDF Author: Eugenia Cheng
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1782830812
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE Even small children know there are infinitely many whole numbers - start counting and you'll never reach the end. But there are also infinitely many decimal numbers between zero and one. Are these two types of infinity the same? Are they larger or smaller than each other? Can we even talk about 'larger' and 'smaller' when we talk about infinity? In Beyond Infinity, international maths sensation Eugenia Cheng reveals the inner workings of infinity. What happens when a new guest arrives at your infinite hotel - but you already have an infinite number of guests? How does infinity give Zeno's tortoise the edge in a paradoxical foot-race with Achilles? And can we really make an infinite number of cookies from a finite amount of cookie dough? Wielding an armoury of inventive, intuitive metaphor, Cheng draws beginners and enthusiasts alike into the heart of this mysterious, powerful concept to reveal fundamental truths about mathematics, all the way from the infinitely large down to the infinitely small.

Dot, Dot, Dot

Dot, Dot, Dot PDF Author: James A. Lindsay
Publisher: Onus Books
ISBN: 9780956694898
Category : Atheism
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Infinity and God have been close bedfellows over the recent millennia of human thought. But this is James A. Lindsay's point. These two ideas are thought, mere concepts. Lindsay shows in a concise and readable manner that infinity is an abstraction, and shows that, in all likelihood, so is God, particularly if he has infinite properties. This book is about math. It is about God. It is about stressing the importance of not confusing these two ideas with reality. Never the twain shall meet. "A short and engaging read on the meeting of two huge ideas, infinity and God, that leaves us seeing both as abstract ideas that may have nothing to do with reality. Honest and accessible, Dot, Dot, Dot is a great little book to stretch your thinking." - Peter Boghossian, author of A Manual for Creating Atheists "Timely, important and very readable, this book pulls the rug from under theists' feet." - Jonathan MS Pearce, The Little Book of Unholy Questions "Read this to avoid making any more cardinal sins and learn how much math is an amazing human endeavor." - Aaron Adair, PhD, The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View

Infinity

Infinity PDF Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198755236
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Ian Stewart considers the concept of infinity and the profound role it plays in mathematics, logic, physics, cosmology, and philosophy. He shows that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise, and analyses its important practical everyday applications.

Fragments of Infinity

Fragments of Infinity PDF Author: Ivars Peterson
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 0470341122
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 447

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Book Description
A visual journey to the intersection of math and imagination, guided by an award-winning author Mathematics is right brain work, art left brain, right? Not so. This intriguing book shows how intertwined the disciplines are. Portraying the work of many contemporary artists in media from metals to glass to snow, Fragments of Infinity draws us into the mysteries of one-sided surfaces, four-dimensional spaces, self-similar structures, and other bizarre or seemingly impossible features of modern mathematics as they are given visible expression. Featuring more than 250 beautiful illustrations and photographs of artworks ranging from sculptures both massive and minute to elaborate geometric tapestries and mosaics of startling complexity, this is an enthralling exploration of abstract shapes, space, and time made tangible. Ivars Peterson (Washington, DC) is the mathematics writer and online editor of Science News and the author of The Jungles of Randomness (Wiley: 0-471-16449-6), as well as four previous trade books.

The Beginning of Infinity

The Beginning of Infinity PDF Author: David Deutsch
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141969695
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 571

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Book Description
'Science has never had an advocate quite like David Deutsch ... A computational physicist on a par with his touchstones Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, and a philosopher in the line of his greatest hero, Karl Popper. His arguments are so clear that to read him is to experience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet and to understand it' Peter Forbes, Independent In our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely? In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity's infinite possibility. 'This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement 'Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive' Economist 'David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age' Scotsman