Conversations with a Mathematician: Math, Art, Science and the Limits of Reason

by Gregory Chaitin

The author, G. J. Chaitin, shows that God plays dice not only in quantum mechanics but also in the foundations of mathematics. According to Chaitin there exist mathematical facts that are true for no reason. This fascinating and provocative text contains a collection of his most wide-ranging and non-technical lectures and interviews. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with the philosophy of mathematics, the similarities and differences between physics and mathematics, and mathematics as art.

Genres: Mathematics, Philosophy, Science

168 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 2001

About the author

Gregory Chaitin is widely known for his work on metamathematics and for his discovery of the celebrated Omega number, which proved the fundamental unknowability of math. He is the author of many books on mathematics, including Meta Math! The Quest for Omega. Proving Darwin is his first book on biology. Chaitin was for many years at the IBM Watson Research Center in New York. The research described in this book was carried out at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where Chaitin is now a professor. An Argentine-American, he is an honorary professor at the University of Buenos Aires and has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Cordoba, the oldest university in Argentina.

Reviews

[Leonor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beggining of this book was so interesting! It really sparked my interest in math and science in general! I absolutely loved it and was fascinated by the ideas of the author and theories of the great mathematicians before him (Hilbert, Godel, Turing) of whom I had never heard of. However, as the book progressed it got very repetitive and and bit annoying to be honest.
I still recommend it but you will only need to read the first 4 chapters to understand the whole book, so I don't think it is worth buying (I got it as a gift).

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject, however, there is a lot of overlap between the interviews/talks that are transcribed which lead me to skim the second half of the book.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of interviews that provide an high level informal summary of Chaitin's life work.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely for rereading. The connections between randomness, halting, and undecidability are elusive and obvious at the same time.