Download or read book G del s Theorem a Very Short Introduction written by A. W. Moore and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-24 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Kurt Gödel first published his celebrated theorem, showing that no axiomatization can determine the whole truth and nothing but the truth concerning arithmetic, nearly a century ago. The theorem challenged prevalent presuppositions about the nature of mathematics and was consequently of considerable mathematical interest, while also raising various deep philosophical questions. Gödel's Theorem has since established itself as a landmark intellectual achievement, having a profound impact on today's mathematical ideas. Gödel and his theorem have attracted something of a cult following, though his theorem is often misunderstood. This Very Short Introduction places the theorem in its intellectual and historical context, and explains the key concepts as well as common misunderstandings of what it actually states. Adrian Moore provides a clear statement of the theorem, presenting two proofs, each of which has something distinctive to teach about its content. Moore also discusses the most important philosophical implications of the theorem. In particular, Moore addresses the famous question of whether the theorem shows the human mind to have mathematical powers beyond those of any possible computer ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Risk A Very Short Introduction written by Baruch Fischhoff and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-26 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Risk is everywhere - from genetically modified crops, dams, and stem-cell therapy to heartbreak, online predators, inflation, and robbery. This Very Short Introduction examines what science has learned about how people deal with risks, what we can learn through decision theory, and how we can evaluate risk in our own lives.
Download or read book An Introduction to G del s Theorems written by Peter Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-07-26 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1931, the young Kurt Gödel published his First Incompleteness Theorem, which tells us that, for any sufficiently rich theory of arithmetic, there are some arithmetical truths the theory cannot prove. This remarkable result is among the most intriguing (and most misunderstood) in logic. Gödel also outlined an equally significant Second Incompleteness Theorem. How are these Theorems established, and why do they matter? Peter Smith answers these questions by presenting an unusual variety of proofs for the First Theorem, showing how to prove the Second Theorem, and exploring a family of related results (including some not easily available elsewhere). The formal explanations are interwoven with discussions of the wider significance of the two Theorems. This book will be accessible to philosophy students with a limited formal background. It is equally suitable for mathematics students taking a first course in mathematical logic.
Download or read book Presocratic Philosophy A Very Short Introduction written by Catherine Osborne and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-04-22 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively and thematic treatment of early Greek philosophy, this work discusses the invention of western philosophy - the first thinkers to explore ideas about the nature of reality, time, and the origin of the universe.
Download or read book Mathematics as Metaphor written by I͡U. I. Manin and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2007 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes essays that are grouped in three parts: Mathematics; Mathematics and Physics; and, Language, Consciousness, and Book reviews. This book is suitable for those interested in the philosophy and history of mathematics, physics, and linguistics.
Download or read book G del s Theorem written by Torkel Franzén and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2005-06-06 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Among the many expositions of Gödel's incompleteness theorems written for non-specialists, this book stands apart. With exceptional clarity, Franzén gives careful, non-technical explanations both of what those theorems say and, more importantly, what they do not. No other book aims, as his does, to address in detail the misunderstandings and abuses of the incompleteness theorems that are so rife in popular discussions of their significance. As an antidote to the many spurious appeals to incompleteness in theological, anti-mechanist and post-modernist debates, it is a valuable addition to the literature." --- John W. Dawson, author of Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Gödel
Download or read book An Introduction to Proof Theory written by Paolo Mancosu and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Proof Theory provides an accessible introduction to the theory of proofs, with details of proofs worked out and examples and exercises to aid the reader's understanding. It also serves as a companion to reading the original pathbreaking articles by Gerhard Gentzen. The first half covers topics in structural proof theory, including the Gödel-Gentzen translation of classical into intuitionistic logic (and arithmetic), natural deduction and the normalization theorems (for both NJ and NK), the sequent calculus, including cut-elimination and mid-sequent theorems, and various applications of these results. The second half examines ordinal proof theory, specifically Gentzen's consistency proof for first-order Peano Arithmetic. The theory of ordinal notations and other elements of ordinal theory are developed from scratch, and no knowledge of set theory is presumed. The proof methods needed to establish proof-theoretic results, especially proof by induction, are introduced in stages throughout the text. Mancosu, Galvan, and Zach's introduction will provide a solid foundation for those looking to understand this central area of mathematical logic and the philosophy of mathematics.
Download or read book Information A Very Short Introduction written by Luciano Floridi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-25 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction; 1 The information revolution; 2 The language of information; 3 Mathematical information; 4 Semantic information; 5 Physical information; 6 Biological information; 7 Economic information; 8 The ethics of information; Conclusion; References.
Download or read book On the Brink of Paradox written by Agustin Rayo and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to awe-inspiring ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, and computability theory. This book introduces the reader to awe-inspiring issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics. It explores ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, computability theory, the Grandfather Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Principle of Countable Additivity. The goal is to present some exceptionally beautiful ideas in enough detail to enable readers to understand the ideas themselves (rather than watered-down approximations), but without supplying so much detail that they abandon the effort. The philosophical content requires a mind attuned to subtlety; the most demanding of the mathematical ideas require familiarity with college-level mathematics or mathematical proof. The book covers Cantor's revolutionary thinking about infinity, which leads to the result that some infinities are bigger than others; time travel and free will, decision theory, probability, and the Banach-Tarski Theorem, which states that it is possible to decompose a ball into a finite number of pieces and reassemble the pieces so as to get two balls that are each the same size as the original. Its investigation of computability theory leads to a proof of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, which yields the amazing result that arithmetic is so complex that no computer could be programmed to output every arithmetical truth and no falsehood. Each chapter is followed by an appendix with answers to exercises. A list of recommended reading points readers to more advanced discussions. The book is based on a popular course (and MOOC) taught by the author at MIT.
Download or read book A Graduate Course In Probability written by Liviu I Nicolaescu and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2022-09-09 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book grew out of the notes for a one-semester basic graduate course in probability. As the title suggests, it is meant to be an introduction to probability and could serve as textbook for a year long text for a basic graduate course. It assumes some familiarity with measure theory and integration so in this book we emphasize only those aspects of measure theory that have special probabilistic uses.The book covers the topics that are part of the culture of an aspiring probabilist and it is guided by the author's personal belief that probability was and is a theory driven by examples. The examples form the main attraction of this subject. For this reason, a large book is devoted to an eclectic collection of examples, from classical to modern, from mainstream to 'exotic'. The text is complemented by nearly 200 exercises, quite a few nontrivial, but all meant to enhance comprehension and enlarge the reader's horizons.While teaching probability both at undergraduate and graduate level the author discovered the revealing power of simulations. For this reason, the book contains a veiled invitation to the reader to familiarize with the programing language R. In the appendix, there are a few of the most frequently used operations and the text is sprinkled with (less than optimal) R codes. Nowadays one can do on a laptop simulations and computations we could only dream as an undergraduate in the past. This is a book written by a probability outsider. That brings along a bit of freshness together with certain 'naiveties'.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning written by Keith J. Holyoak and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 865 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning brings together the contributions of many of the leading researchers in thinking and reasoning to create the most comprehensive overview of research on thinking and reasoning that has ever been available.
Download or read book Leibniz written by Maria Rosa Antognazza and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Very Short Introduction considers who Leibniz was and introduces his overarching intellectual vision. It follows his pursuit of the systematic reform and advancement of all the sciences, to be undertaken as a collaborative enterprise supported by an enlightened ruler, and his ultimate goal of the improvement of the human condition.
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.
Download or read book The Knot Book written by Colin Conrad Adams and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knots are familiar objects. Yet the mathematical theory of knots quickly leads to deep results in topology and geometry. This work offers an introduction to this theory, starting with our understanding of knots. It presents the applications of knot theory to modern chemistry, biology and physics.
Download or read book Number Theory written by George E. Andrews and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Undergraduate text uses combinatorial approach to accommodate both math majors and liberal arts students. Covers the basics of number theory, offers an outstanding introduction to partitions, plus chapters on multiplicativity-divisibility, quadratic congruences, additivity, and more.
Download or read book An Introduction To Quantum Field Theory written by Michael E. Peskin and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-05-04 with total page 866 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory is a textbook intended for the graduate physics course covering relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, and Feynman diagrams. The authors make these subjects accessible through carefully worked examples illustrating the technical aspects of the subject, and intuitive explanations of what is going on behind the mathematics. After presenting the basics of quantum electrodynamics, the authors discuss the theory of renormalization and its relation to statistical mechanics, and introduce the renormalization group. This discussion sets the stage for a discussion of the physical principles that underlie the fundamental interactions of elementary particle physics and their description by gauge field theories.
Download or read book An Introduction to G del s Theorems written by Peter Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1931, the young Kurt Gödel published his First Incompleteness Theorem, which tells us that, for any sufficiently rich theory of arithmetic, there are some arithmetical truths the theory cannot prove. This remarkable result is among the most intriguing (and most misunderstood) in logic. Gödel also outlined an equally significant Second Incompleteness Theorem. How are these Theorems established, and why do they matter? Peter Smith answers these questions by presenting an unusual variety of proofs for the First Theorem, showing how to prove the Second Theorem, and exploring a family of related results (including some not easily available elsewhere). The formal explanations are interwoven with discussions of the wider significance of the two Theorems. This book - extensively rewritten for its second edition - will be accessible to philosophy students with a limited formal background. It is equally suitable for mathematics students taking a first course in mathematical logic.
