REFLECTIONS: THE MAGIC, MUSIC & MATH OF RAYMOND SMULLYAN: The Magic, Music and Mathematics of Raymond Smullyan

by Raymond M Smullyan

Overview

This is an exciting if not rambling account of events of Raymond Smullyan's four lives — as a mathematical logician, musician, magician, and author — together with thoughts that come to his mind as he recalls them. This book includes topics from some of Smullyan's twenty-six books, as well as many of his favorite anecdotes and jokes. It also presents some generalizations of theorems of the great logicians Gödel and Tarski, and discusses logic in general, and how he won his wife with a logic trick! Smullyan also relates some of his teaching experiences, and expresses his views on mathematical education, and how our present textbooks are primarily responsible for its decline! About his life as a pianist, Smullyan relates a good deal about his experiences with the Piano Society — a wonderful organization to which he is a staunch contributor, and how he has had such delightful relations with many of its members. Last but not least, Smullyan recounts how he has known some lovely ladies over the years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789814644600
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/23/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	851 KB

Table of Contents

Foreword v

Chapter 1 Early Childhood 1

Chapter 2 Later Childhood 13

Chapter 3 High School 19

Chapter 4 Beginning College 31

Chapter 5 University of Chicago, Music, Magic 45

Chapter 6 Dartmouth, Princeton 65

Chapter 7 After Graduation 85

Chapter 8 Diagonalization, Love, Logic, a Letter 95

Chapter 9 The Piano Society 119

Chapter 10 Lovely Ladies I Have Known 189