Mathematics and the Unexpected Reprint edition by Ekeland, Ivar (1990) Paperback

by Ivar Ekeland

In this brief, elegant treatise, accessible to anyone who likes to think, Ivar Ekeland explains some philosophical implications of recent mathematics.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Popular Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Greyson Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkably well written book about the interplay of math/physics, and philosophy, through the last 700 years. Great way to guarantee a headache. 10/10 recommendation.

[Fuzzy Cow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mathmatics and the Unexpected takes a look at three changes in mathmatics and how these affected how people thought about what could be solved through mathmatics. More a cultural study than a math text book, the examples used show the evolution of mathmatic in application. It is written for someone who has a strong grasp on college level mathmatics (calculus and statistics), but is written for easy consumption, not rigorous proofs.

I really liked this book. As I’m behind on my book goal for the year, I thought a short but intense book might be warrented for once, and this one was really quite facinating. I’ll be the first to admit I have a good gradp on the mechanics of math, but I fail to understand the possibilities of thier application, so a book dedicated to following the application of these processes I’ve been studying was really eye opening. With the added element of historical context, it probided a well rounded evolution of certain ideas and how those ideas affected thier societies.

My favorite chaper is probably the first one (calculous and determinism), though the ideas in the second are really interesting(chaos theory and probability). I’m not sure I followed the third chapter particularly well, as catastrophe theory seems too open ended to really mean anything. It’s a near idea, but I don’t think I understand how it’s supposed to be used, beyond a new way to take notes on a phenomenon.

I though short, it is dense with ideas, as it tries to explain the questions past mathmatians faced and the experiments they used to try to solve them. I recommend this to anyone interested in mathmatics, or someone who wants to know the limitations of these tools they learned about in college.

[Oumaima Boutbagha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read it in French, I don't really like reading such books in French. But I won't deny it helped me grasp many things, things I was studying.

I won't say it is the kind of books you read with passion. Sometimes it seemed boring. Because even the language used was'nt exciting. But it is interesting...

However, it didn't clarify that much. Honestly, I was expecting more. Especially for people who didn't have a deep look on the different subjects...

Finally, you can always enjoy such books if you are interested in the topic in general.

Read wisely and enjoy :)

[Christopher Heckman · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half good, second half not so much.

The first two chapters (and the two appendices) tell the story of mathematicians' attempts to describe the solar system. Chapter 1 deals with Kepler's idea of using ellipses instead of circles, and Chapter 2 deals with the fact that Kepler's Laws are chaotic.

So far so good. However, he then devotes Chapter 3 to Catastrophe Theory (as discovered by Rene Thom). I once saw Catastrophe Theory referred to as an answer in search of a question. Ekeland evidently hoped that this qualitative theory would describe why there is chaos, but I don't think he succeeded. Then Chapter 4 becomes entirely literary. I'm not sure why he made this digression, but it is almost surely the reason why the book was called a "literary" book.

[gargamelscat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lost my appetite for this small book about 2/3rds into it and forced myself to finish it off after a hiatus of about 6 months.

This was partly due to the esoteric nature of the subject matter and partly due to it being totally inapplicable to anything I might be involved in.

The language is a bit flowery - not sure if that's an artefact of translation from the French or just that I detest philosophy with my math - and I cannot say I gained any insight from it.

Catastrophe/chaos theory was all a bit faddish, which is what makes it suspect as a math subject.

[Kart Linus · Rating 2 out of 5]

For school. Did not understand very well.