false 821914 7 Before discussing the merits of David Foster Wallace's <I>Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity</I>, it is essential to define what the book is <I>not</I>. 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, <I>Everything and More</I> is a surprisingly rigorous march through the 2000 plus years of mathematical research that began with Aristotle; continued through Galileo, Isaac Newton, G.W. Leibniz, Karl Weierstrass, and J.W.R. Dedekind; and culminated in Georg Cantor and his Set Theory. The task Wallace (author of the bestseller <I>Infinite Jest</I> and other fiction) has set himself is enormously challenging: without radically compromising the complexity of the philosophy, metaphysics, or mathematics that underlies the evolving concept of infinity, present the material to a lay audience in a manner that is entertaining. To propel his narrative, Wallace even develops a style that mirrors the mathematical language he probes. One difficulty in his focus on concepts and not a strict human chronology, though, is that his structure is dependent on frequent digressions (especially early on). Patience is required. Wallace demands that his reader walk through the equations, study the graphs and charts, and relearn college-level concepts to follow along on the exploration. Indeed, after one wrenching dip into Zeno's paradoxes, Wallace spouts at his imagined complaining audience: "Deal." But the book should be deemed a success. If one grants him the attention he requires, Wallace has made the trip richly rewarding. <I>--Patrick O'Kelley</I> 807735 28 10 2003 Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (Great Discoveries) total:535|5:96|4:190|3:165|2:66|1:18| 535 1885 1020 77 1 1 false false Thu Jul 05 18:15:12 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 18:29:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 08:23:37 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 08:58:56 -0800 2009 more...]]> 0 1 false false Fri Apr 04 05:20:45 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 06 15:07:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Jul 25 12:03:45 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 12:08:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Feb 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 20:17:51 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 06:28:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Dec 29 21:58:59 -0800 2008 Wed Jun 24 11:09:07 -0700 2009
Early on there's a footnote along the lines of "...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 09:05:43 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 09:51:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 23:35:01 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 15 19:52:14 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 01:54:23 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 04:40:37 -0700 2008
started out 5 stars. lots of great stuff on ancient greek philosophy and the relationship between how they thought about math and how they thought about the universe. typical hilarious ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 24 09:43:50 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 13:28:00 -0700 2008
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 inte...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Sep 11 18:45:26 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 18:45:26 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Mar 29 17:50:33 -0700 2007 Sun Apr 15 17:53:34 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon May 18 15:40:27 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 15:41:28 -0700 2009
it's basically a contemporary fiction writer writing a math book.
about the history of infinity, the concept of uncountability, that whole deal.
like, the math isn't anything I haven't seen before
at least so far (about a third of the way th...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 16:13:37 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 14:59:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Oct 15 16:45:32 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 16:52:12 -0700 2009
Sadly, this book is not (despite emphatic protestations from the author otherwise) for people unfamiliar with advanced math (and by advanced I mean anything more complicated that basic g...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 07 08:53:49 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 09:14:32 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 08:13:21 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 08:42:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 07:39:13 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 10:01:35 -0700 2009
1. Math is a procession of European white guys telling one another that their abstractions are weak.
2. Kurt Godel broke math, but only by telling everyone how weak their abstractions have always been.
3. Math invents abstractions as required by progress in other...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 02 00:39:54 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 00:43:36 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 07 23:50:12 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 23:54:10 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=821914