Euclid in the Rainforest: Discovering Universal Truth in Logic and Math

Mazur, Joseph

ISBN 10: 0452287839 / ISBN 13: 9780452287839

Published by Plume, New York, 2006

About this Item

8vo, 334 pp.

Seller Inventory # 110685

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Euclid in the Rainforest: Discovering Universal Truth in Logic and Math
• Publisher: Plume, New York
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0452287839
• ISBN 13: 9780452287839
• Binding: softcover
• Illustrator: Illustrated
• Edition: 1st.
• Condition: Nearly fine copy
• Seller catalogs:
  • Mathematics

About this title

Synopsis

Like Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach, and David Berlinski’s A Tour of the Calculus, Euclid in the Rainforest combines the literary with the mathematical to explore
logic—the one indispensable tool in man’s quest to understand the world. Underpinning both math and science, it is the foundation of every major advancement in knowledge since the time of the ancient Greeks. Through adventure stories and historical narratives populated with a rich and quirky cast of characters, Mazur artfully reveals the less-than-airtight nature of logic and the muddled relationship between math and the real world. Ultimately, Mazur argues, logical reasoning is not purely robotic. At its most basic level, it is a creative process guided by our intuitions and beliefs about the world.

About the Author

Joseph Mazur is Professor of Mathematics at Marlboro College, where he has taught a wide range of classes in all areas of mathematics, its history, and philosophy.