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I am very pleased to announce that
The Book of Infinity
is available for pre-order!
All my favorite paradoxes and conundrums.
#BookOfInfinity #InfinitelyMore
Joel David Hamkins
15.9K posts
Joel David Hamkins
@JDHamkins
Mathematics and philosophy of the infinite. Professor of Logic @NotreDame @UniofOxford #ProofandtheArt #PhilMaths #InfinitelyMore #BookOfInfinity
- I once saw an incredible lecture in Berkeley by a historian of science, one of the best talks I have ever seen. He started his talk sitting on the desk amongst a huge pile of physics textbooks from history, each in its day "the best textbook of its time."
- At the mathematics department of the University of Barcelona.
- Pick's theorem, a mathematical gem, a profound mathematical theorem, but with an elementary proof. I find it excellent for teaching how to write proofs, because one naturally approaches the general theorem in a series of easier cases. #ProofandtheArt
- Replying to @JDHamkinsWhat a punchline! And what an effective way to convey his main point. The implication was completely clear that of course we should expect that eventually this text also will come to be seen as fundamentally wrong on some issue or other.
- Replying to @JDHamkinsThis lecture has stuck with me now for decades as an example of excellence in how to give a talk—I remember it clearly now decades later. Would anyone know who it likely was that I saw? This was Berkeley in the early 1990s, but I think he was likely an invited guest speaker.
- Replying to @JDHamkinsFinally, he got to the physics text used currently in Intro Physics classes. He explained how it had improved on its predecessor, and then said that he didn't know of any specific physics issue it got wrong. He silently placed it on top of the pile of earlier, flawed texts.
- My book, Proof and the Art of Mathematics, MIT Press 2020, has been awarded the 2024 Daniel Solow Author's Award by the Mathematical Association of America. What a pleasure it has been to see the response to my book. jdh.hamkins.org/daniel-solow-a… #ProofAndTheArt
- I am preparing a poster and video about counting beyond infinity—how to to count to ω². Comments welcome—please criticize. Final version will appear later. #PhilMaths
- For your enjoyment, here is the reading list for my undergraduate core seminar this semester in Philosophy, Science, and Mathematics. We shall focus on topics in the philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of computability and AI.
- Next week's reading for the core PhilSciMath seminar, two sessions.
- Mathematical induction must be legitimate, since it has always worked in the past.
- In my Infinity class, we covered the surreal numbers. I presented my image of the surreal tree. But I looked down sheepishly as it was displayed. I explained that I had spent many hours creating this image, but now felt something like the mother of an ugly child.
