A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Cosmos

A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Cosmos

Praise for A. K. Dewdney Yes, We Have No Neutrons "We need more books like this-especially if they're this much fun to read." -Wired "Dewdney manages to make this catalog of error entertaining as well as instructive; good medicine for both skeptics and true believers." -Kirkus Reviews "Written with wit and a touch of pathos-and sure to please science lovers." -Publishers Weekly 200% of Nothing "It is impossible to read this timely, important book without enjoyment and eye-opening enlightenment." -Martin Gardner "An entertaining, stinging exposé." -Publishers Weekly A.K. Dewdney takes readers on a theoretical world tour to answer the question: Did humans make up mathematics, or did mathematics make up everything, including humans? After all, mathematical formulas seem to perfectly govern the cosmos, and the ur-mathematician Pythagoras himself believed that mathematics makes up reality. Dewdney has taken it upon himself to examine this fundamental question, beginning his journey in Miletus, the ancient home of Pythagoras and other deep thinkers. There, he meets the fictional Dr. Petros Pygonopolis, the first of his guides through space and time in search of mathematical meaning in history. His journey continues with stops in the Arabian desert (for insight into ancient Islamic astronomy with Professor al-Flayli), Venice (where Maria Canzoni reveals the mysteries of atomic theory), and England (home of the "engines of thought" in the form of Alan Turing's mind machines, as explained by Sir John Brainard). Dewdney's style is accessible, his knowledge is thorough, and his sense of humor is refreshing, if a bit geeky. A Mathematical Mystery Tour is not a difficult read, although the ideas it attempts to clarify are quite abstract. The fictional tour guides at each port of call are helpful in humanizing the intimidating subject matter. --Adam Fisher Dewdney, a computer science professor and author of several popular works on science and mathematics (Yes, We Have No Neutrons, Wiley, 1997), addresses two closely related, long-pondered questions. Why is mathematics so uncannily effective in describing the physical universe? Is "new" mathematics invented, or is it a preexisting something that is discovered? Dewdney's approach is to offer a fictional account of his visits with four fictional contemporary scholars in Europe and Egypt. He explores these fundamental questions via discussions of the mathematical work of Pythagoras, the medieval Arab mathematicians, modern theoretical physicists, and modern mathematicians. The mathematical portions of his chapters should be understandable even to lay readers, yet the material is quite useful in exploring the deep issues that lie at the heart of the book. Dewdney is apparently tempted to believe that mathematics is revealed through discovery rather than invention. He leaves his readers with much to ponder. This is an excellent popular introduction to some fundamental questions in the philosophy of science; strongly recommended for both public and academic libraries.AJack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. “…a light-hearted read, which may entertain the expert and instruct the layman…”(Mathematika) A Mathematical Mystery Tour In this delightfully thought-provoking reading adventure, acclaimed author A. K. Dewdney takes us on a fictional journey around the world in search of the solution to one of the greatest ancient mysteries of mathematics. From the Temple of Apollo to the Arabian desert, and from the winding canals of Venice to the medieval halls of Oxford, Dewdney searches through highlights in the history of mathematics for an answer to the timeless question: Why is it that the cosmos-from the tiny world of atoms to the shape of the universe itself-is so miraculously governed by mathematical laws? Could it be that our world is in some sense made of mathematics, as Pythagoras famously proposed? Or is it we (or the mathematicians among us) who make mathematics? Are the remarkable theorems and equations that describe the world around us discovered, or are they created? Is mathematics the very fabric of the cosmos, or does it exist only in the human mind? Dewdney's tour begins amid the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Miletus, where Pythagoras devised his famous eponymous theorem and proposed his most provocative assertion: the world is made of numbers. On the steps of the Temple of Apollo, Dewdney meets Dr. Petros Pygonopolis, the first of many intriguing characters-each a specialist in an area in mathematics-who will guide him on his quest. We are treated to a lively introduction to some of Pythagoras' most intriguing discoveries, as well as the mysterious story of the famed Pythagorean Brotherhood. From there, we are whisked to the port city of Aqaba at the head of the Red Sea and travel on by camel to the heart of the Arabian desert with Professor Jusuf al-Flayli, an expert on ancient Islamic astronomy, who re