THE MYSTERY OF THE ALEPH; Mathematics, the Kabbala And The Search For Infinity

Aczel, Amir D.

ISBN 10: 0760777780 / ISBN 13: 9780760777787

Published by NY. 2005. Barnes & Noble by arrangement with Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005

About this Item

orange & white hardcover 8vo. (octavo). dustwrapper in protective plastic book jacket cover. very fine cond. mint cond. looks new. like new. as new. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first printing (#1 in # line) of this edition. b&w frontis. photo of George Cantor. 258p. diagrams. illustrations. appendix. authors note. references. notes. index. biography of George Cantor. mathematics. science. kabbalah. philosophy. natural science. numerology. merkabah mysticism. isaac. luria. sephiroth. pythagoras. zeno. galileo. bolzano. moses cordovero. nicholas of cusa. abraham abulafia. zohar. chaverim. hai gaon. set theory. transfinite numbers. bertrand russell. a.n. whitehead. pricipia mathematica. kurt godel. paul cohen. archimedes. st. augustine. moses de leon.~In the late nineteenth century, a brilliant mathematician named Georg Cantor languished in an asylum. His work on "the continuum problem" was driving him to the edge of despair and madness. Through a series of extraordinary leaps of insight, he reached a groundbreaking understanding of the nature of infinity. In The Mystery of the Aleph Amir Aczel gets to the essence of Cantor's pioneering accomplishment: how he derived his theories, their powerful reverberations in the world of mathematics, and the impact of his work on the way we construe the world.Cantor's theory of the infinite is notable for its many seeming contradictions: for example, we can prove that there are as many points on a line one inch long as on a line one mile long; we can also prove that in all time there are as many years as there are days. According to Cantor, infinite sets are equal. Aczel shows how Cantor's mind~twisting, deeply philosophical work has its roots in ancient Greek mathematics and Jewish numerology as found in the Kabbalah. In fact, Cantor used the term aleph~the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with all its attendant divine associations to refer to the mysterious number which is the sum of positive integers. This is not, however, the last positive number, because.there is no last. Just as there is no last fraction before the number 1, aleph is the ultimate number that is always being approached.

Seller Inventory # 9072104

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE MYSTERY OF THE ALEPH; Mathematics, the Kabbala And The Search For Infinity
• Publisher: NY. 2005. Barnes & Noble by arrangement with Thunder's Mouth Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0760777780
• ISBN 13: 9780760777787
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • mathematics
  • philosophy
  • kabbalah

About this title

Synopsis

In the late 19th century, a brilliant mathematician languished in an asylum. His greatest accomplishment, the result of a series of leaps of insight, was his pioneering understanding of the nature of infinity. This is the story of Georg Cantor: how he came to his theories and the reverberations of his work, the consequences of which shape our world. Cantor's theory of the infinite is famous for its many seeming contradictions: for example, we can prove there are as many points on a line one inch long as on a line one mile long; we can also prove that in all time there are as many years as there are days. According to Cantor, infinite sets are equal. The mind-twisting, deeply philosophical work of Cantor has its roots in ancient Greek mathematics and Jewish numerology as found in the mystical work known as the Kabbalah. Cantor used the term aleph-the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with all its attendant divine associations-to refer to the mysterious number which is the sum of positive integers. It is not the last positive number, because . . . there is no last. It is the ultimate number that is always being approached: just as, for example, there is no last fraction before the number 1.