Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (Great Discoveries)
by David Foster Wallace
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 476)
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Wallace Fans/Math Nerds/Infinity Nerds
The reason this book works so well is that Wallace writes about the history of grappling with possibly the most slippery and forbidding concept (infinity) in a very conversant tone. While at times, I did feel like he went overboard a bit so that it went from "conversant" to "patronizing," I generally like DF Wallace a lot and appreciated what he was trying to do with this book (i.e. write a book that "anyone can read" about a "very complicated subject").
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what to say about this book?
1. the first half is easier to follow than the second, even if you are already somewhat familiar with transfinite math.
2. the first is more... philosophical than the second, and the second is much more mathematical than the first. what i found interesting in the first half was the discussion of different historical views on infinity and how it reflected different historical worldviews. what i found interesting in the second half was the historical sequence of ...more
1. the first half is easier to follow than the second, even if you are already somewhat familiar with transfinite math.
2. the first is more... philosophical than the second, and the second is much more mathematical than the first. what i found interesting in the first half was the discussion of different historical views on infinity and how it reflected different historical worldviews. what i found interesting in the second half was the historical sequence of ...more
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Before discussing the merits of David Foster Wallace's Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, it is essential to define what the book is not. This volume in the "Great Discoveries" series is not a history of the personalities and social conditions that led to the "discovery" of infinity. Nor is it a narrative fixated on the cultish fear of--and obsession with--the infinite that has seemingly driven mathematicians insane over the centuries. Rather, Everything and ...more
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Love him or hate him, DFW is a prodigious talent. Except for the disturbing "Conversations with Hideous Men" I have found his previous material to be so hilariously, intelligently, on-target that I was willing to overlook a multitude of stylistic transgressions (chiefly, the overly cutesy tone, gratuitous flaunting of the author's erudition, the footnote fetish).
So I was reasonably disposed to like this book and was looking forward to reading it. Sadly, it turns out that this was ...more
So I was reasonably disposed to like this book and was looking forward to reading it. Sadly, it turns out that this was ...more
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Read in February, 2008
This starts off pretty lucid and fascinating--a real page turner--with some cool paradoxes (such as, if you cross a street, first you have to cross half a street, but before you can cross half you have to cross half of that and before you can cross half of that... and so on... so how could you ever cross the street when there are an infinite number of halves you have to cross first?), interesting history, and mind-blowing concepts (a line contains an infinite number of points, no matter how long...more
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Read in March, 2004
This book is long and feels long. I took three weeks to finish it. Nonetheless, it is an engaging study of the theory of infinity, and the implications of infinity in mathematics from the Greeks to the early 20th Century. If you have an affinity for math, the first five chapters are fun, the sixth and most of the seventh are hard, and then it all comes together at the end. I felt like I learned something, though I can't remember much of it now. I can tell you that the Pythagoreans hated irration...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who finds math interesting
I'm still reading this book, but what I find most interesting thus far is DFW's use of abbreviations and symbols as a part of his writing--for example, using the lemniscate instead of writing the word "infinity". It has the effect of making the reader aware of concepts that essentially exist beyond language (in this particular occasion) and in others, makes one aware of how highly developed and ingrained linguistic sign patterns are that we can use either symbols, acrostics or initial...more
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Read in January, 2007
This is pop mathematics with wit and charm second only to E. T. Bell.
Infinity is a tricky subject---it is so easy to dramatize without saying anything substantive. But, thankfully, DFW is straightforward with the math. He does ham up the drama a fair bit, which made the book feel kind of tired. I am going to blame my boredom with the book on the fact that I read more history and philosophy of math than any girl should. OTOH, since I love history/philosophy of math so much, I can't help but r...more
Infinity is a tricky subject---it is so easy to dramatize without saying anything substantive. But, thankfully, DFW is straightforward with the math. He does ham up the drama a fair bit, which made the book feel kind of tired. I am going to blame my boredom with the book on the fact that I read more history and philosophy of math than any girl should. OTOH, since I love history/philosophy of math so much, I can't help but r...more
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Read in December, 2004
recommends it for:
people with beards
What?
Huh?
Yeesh, what happened?
Infinity got the best of me...this time.
If this book taught me anything it is that Infinity is bigger than me.
In fact, it made brain shrivel a little.
When it comes to math, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a slouch. When it came to reading this book, I'll also admit I was a bit of a slouch.
Interesting, to say the least, this whole Infinity thing.
But, at the end of the day, I like my like my liquor neat and my coca-cola warm and my numbers f...more
Huh?
Yeesh, what happened?
Infinity got the best of me...this time.
If this book taught me anything it is that Infinity is bigger than me.
In fact, it made brain shrivel a little.
When it comes to math, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a slouch. When it came to reading this book, I'll also admit I was a bit of a slouch.
Interesting, to say the least, this whole Infinity thing.
But, at the end of the day, I like my like my liquor neat and my coca-cola warm and my numbers f...more
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For thousands of years, people smarter than me have struggled with the ideas of "infinitely big" and "infinitely small". This book chronicles their the history of their ordeals.
I find DFW's footnote-heavy in-jokey style mildly to heavily irritating, but I was willing to tolerate it because of his obvious excitement. I used to think of analysis as pointless pedantry, but DFW convinced me otherwise -- high praise!
I find DFW's footnote-heavy in-jokey style mildly to heavily irritating, but I was willing to tolerate it because of his obvious excitement. I used to think of analysis as pointless pedantry, but DFW convinced me otherwise -- high praise!
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Read in December, 2007
i really like david foster wallace. and by like, i mean something along the lines of - i seek out his words like a junkie seeks out smack. here, he takes on a massively complex subject of which i know nothing (and have always been curious) and renders it lucidly.
i didn't dig into the hardcore math to the extent i could have, but wallace managed to generate understanding on multiple levels.
i didn't dig into the hardcore math to the extent i could have, but wallace managed to generate understanding on multiple levels.
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Yes, I enjoyed it, which is weird. I'm not a fan of Wallace's or other "super intellectual" fiction and I know there are MUCH better books on infinity and set theory by mathematicians and philosophers. So why did I dig this? It's like looking a weird animal like the platypus, an amalgam of different parts. I never saw that before. The fact that he could carry this off at all impresses me.
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Read in July, 2008
An interesting (if somewhat disjointed) overview of math history. I suspect this book is of limited value, as it is probably too technical for the casual DFW fan, and too condensed for those who are interested in learning more about the math involved. Only recommended if you are a serious DFW completist. (3 stars b/c I enjoy his writing style)
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The reviews had said this book was in layman's terms. Ha! About halfway through I pulled out my college calculus book, hoping to remember enough of the subject to finish reading Wallace's book. Couldn't understand enough to finish it, though it had some stimulating ideas about infinity in the early going.
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I thought he did a very impressive job, considering what the subject was and the range of people he wanted the book to be accessible to. It was interesting but still pretty easy to follow. Sometimes he did sound a little bit patronizing, but not so much that it was annoying to read.
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Although the book has DFW's trademark humor and style, it's written more for a math audience. And I'm not really a math person (I use the basics for everyday stuff, but nothing too fancy), so I could not get into it. But those interested in mathematics and physics should like it.
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Read in January, 2007
this book is for the reader who likes to pretend they understand pythagorem's theorum and for those who don't mind a little footnote indulgence. Due to the use of many abbreviations, the book is linguistically current - like an epic text message on mathematical theories.
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Not DFW's best but I enjoyed his way of describing thigs. The mathematics does not make this a book worth reading, but his unique way of phrasing, paraphasing and describing mathematics makes this a must read for people wanting to describe math in a meaningful way.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
math nerds,people with time
His trademark footnotes and super footnotes work well with sorting the hierarchy of mathy historical material, but apparently I'm only interested in 100 pages of the history of infinity and not more. Perhaps it waxes more lyrical and less historical later on.
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recommends it for:
obsessive compulsive people
uh-oh! a guy who writes an infinitiloquent tome now takes on a book about infinity. how many words can one waste on a topic that the more you divide it up, the further from the core of the idea you remain? about 320 pages worth of words is the answer there.
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