Godel: A Life of Logic, the Mind, and Mathematics FROM THE PUBLISHER
Kurt Godel was an intellectual giant. His Incompleteness Theorem turned not only mathematics but also the whole world of science and philosophy on its head. Shattering hopes that logic would, in the end, allow us complete understanding of the universe, Godel's theorem also raised many provocative questions: What are the limits of rational thought? Can we ever fully understand the machines we build? Or the inner workings of our own minds? How should mathematicians proceed in the absence of complete certainty about their results?
A complex figure, Godel was by turns social and reclusive, ambitious and paranoid. A close friend of Albert Einstein, he declined rapidly after Einstein's death, eventually starving himself from his fear of germs. But as Casti and DePauli brilliantly demonstrate. Godel's influence persisted. His work has revolutionized not only mathematics, but philosophy, linguistics, computer science, and even cosmology. In this remarkable book, Casti and DePauli at last bring to life Kurt Godel's eccentric, legendary genius, and his profound intellectual legacy.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
These authors, both respected academics, hope that "by the time the reader gets to the end of this book, he or she will know why" Kurt G del (1906-78) is one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely. The complexity of the work for which G del is best known--the "G del Theorem" (baldly, that deductions from first principles can never be complete)--is such that it cannot be made comprehensible in a popular treatment such as this. This is not to say that there is not much of interest here--there is. There are nice discussions of important contemporary issues, such as computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and more, but none of it makes G del's work any more intelligible. What the reader will find here, however--and on this basis alone the book deserves a place in most libraries--is details of the strange life of a mathematical genius who died from self-starvation owing to paranoia that someone was trying to poison his food.--Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Popular science writer Casti (Sante Fe Institute and Technical U. of Vienna) and DePauli (statistics and computer science, U. of Vienna) present the first biography of mathematician Kurt Gdel (1906-78) for lay readers. They look at his life from childhood in Monrovia to self-starvation in Princeton, and explore the work he is known for. The short bibliography is annotated. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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