Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever

by Hal Hellman

Overview

Praise for Hal Hellman

Great Feuds in Mathematics

"Those who think that mathematicians are cold, mechanical proving machines will do well to read Hellman's book on conflicts in mathematics. The main characters are as excitable and touchy as the next man. But Hellman's stories also show how scientific fights bring out sharper formulations and better arguments."
-Professor Dirk van Dalen, Philosophy Department, Utrecht University

Great Feuds in Technology

"There's nothing like a good feud to grab your attention. And when it comes to describing the battle, Hal Hellman is a master."
-New Scientist

Great Feuds in Science

"Unusual insight into the development of science . . . I was excited by this book and enthusiastically recommend it to general as well as scientific audiences."
-American Scientist

"Hellman has assembled a series of entertaining tales . . . many fine examples of heady invective without parallel in our time."
-Nature

Great Feuds in Medicine

"This engaging book documents [the] reactions in ten of the most heated controversies and rivalries in medical history. . . . The disputes detailed are . . . fascinating. . . . It is delicious stuff here."
-The New York Times

"Stimulating."
-Journal of the American Medical Association

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681620121
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

HAL HELLMAN is the author of Great Feuds in Science, Great Feuds in Medicine, and Great Feuds in Technology, all from Wiley. He has published articles in the New York Times, Omni, Reader's Digest, Psychology Today, and Geo.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1. Tartaglia versus Cardano • Solving Cubic Equations.

2. Descartes versus Fermat • Analytic Geometry and Optics.

3. Newton versus Leibniz • Credit for the Calculus.

4. Bernoulli versus Bernoulli • Sibling Rivalry of the Highest Order.

5. Sylvester versus Huxley • Mathematics: Ivory Tower or Real World?

6. Kronecker versus Cantor • Mathematical Humbug.

7. Borel versus Zermelo • The “Notorious Axiom”.

8. Poincaré versus Russell • The Logical Foundations of Mathematics.

9. Hilbert versus Brouwer • Formalism versus Intuitionism.

10. Absolutists/Platonists versus Fallibilists/Constructivists • Are Mathematical Advances Discoveries or Inventions?

Epilogue.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Those who think that mathematicians are cold, mechanic proving machines will do well to read Hellman's book on conflicts in mathematics. The main characters are as excitable and touchy as the next man, but Hellman's stories also show how scientific fights bring out sharper formulations and better arguments."
—Professor Dirk van Dalen, Philosophy Department, Utrecht University

"Hellman's fascinating book illustrates what can happen when great scholars employ weapons of math destruction."--William Dunham, Muhlenberg College, author of The Mathematical Universe: An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems, and Personalities

"A very engaging effort and a good introduction to the human side of mathematics."--Mathematics Association of America

Editorial Reviews

* "…genuinely insightful…accurate…rapid and fluent…" (London Mathematical Society, January 2007)

From the Publisher