Euclid in the Rainforest: Discovering Universal Truth in Logic and Math

by Joseph Mazur

Like Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach , and David Berlinski’s A Tour of the Calculus , Euclid in the Rainforest combines the literary with the mathematical to explore
logic—the one indispensable tool in man’s quest to understand the world. Underpinning both math and science, it is the foundation of every major advancement in knowledge since the time of the ancient Greeks. Through adventure stories and historical narratives populated with a rich and quirky cast of characters, Mazur artfully reveals the less-than-airtight nature of logic and the muddled relationship between math and the real world. Ultimately, Mazur argues, logical reasoning is not purely robotic. At its most basic level, it is a creative process guided by our intuitions and beliefs about the world.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Logic, History, Nature

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Joseph C. Mazur is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Marlboro College in Vermont. He earned his Ph.D. in algebraic geometry from MIT and has held visiting positions at MIT and the University of Warwick. A recipient of Guggenheim, Bellagio, and Bogliasco Fellowships, he has written widely on the history and philosophy of mathematics, with books translated into over a dozen languages.

Reviews

[Raphael Rosen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book. The table of contents sounded so interesting: infinity! logic! how math pertains to reality! But, the further I got into the book, the more frustrated I became. Each section -- infinity, logic, and reality -- contains several chapters, but it's never clear to the reader how each chapter relates to the overarching theme. Moreover, each chapter itself seemed just like a collection of math-related stories, one after the other, with no obvious link. (I'm sure there *were* links, but I would have had to work to find them.) Also -- and this may seem like a nit-picking critique -- the weak topic sentences really got in the way of my understanding each paragraph. Topic sentences have to set up the rest of the sentences in a paragraph, giving the reader a kind of road map, but these didn't. Arrrrgh! In my opinion, the book should be rewritten under the watchful eye of a careful editor.

[Jim D'Ambrosia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stopped reading after this passage: "It was Fredericka, who quietly came from behind to whip the dead octopus around me. I panicked but quickly realized that she was pulling me closer for a kiss on the lips. Her naked breasts pressed against my chest."

I'm not against naked lady dead-octopus-whipping, but I was looking forward to reading about math, and the math bits weren't really that coherent. And they had too many mistakes and misstatements.

Here's an unflattering review, which I agree with: https://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews...

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overview:
Mathematics has a very long logical tradition, but it is far more than just logic. Within the logic, geometry, infinity, probability, and statistics, are found applications to real life, science, and the history of math itself. With a psychological undercurrent, the book teaches how decisions are made, how to think, how to reason, the role of perception and beliefs on thoughts and decisions.

Math demands precision, can be founded on imprecision. Math sometimes requires belief in answers devoid of experience and the senses. What can be done mathematically, cannot normally be done in reality. Making math not a perfect representative for reality. But the unrealistic concepts, which themselves are just logical extensions of practical concepts, facilitated in understanding concepts that do impact reality.

Additional differences between reality and math, is that while natural numbers are ordered, objects found in the real world are not ordered. No ordered sequence to be followed. Within things that go on for infinity, becoming is merely appearance. But we do not actually know much beyond the finite. What logic does is spot contradictions between premises and the conclusions. Logic can make statements invulnerable, but logic can also be devoid of meaning. Logic alone cannot persuade.

Caveats?
There are many mathematic puzzles in this book, which can cause the reader to slow down, in order to think about them more deeply. Slowing down can mean breaking the link with the narrative.

As this is primarily a book about math, having an interest and some background in math can help bring more understanding to the topics. Some parts can be difficult to understand, but the book does reveal the beauty in math.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Euclid in the Rainforest is a personal meditation on the nature of truth and how human's determine the veracity of any statement or idea. As a math professor, Mazur apparently has taught this book as a course on logic and plausible reasoning (but maybe not with as much of the memoirs style personal stories thrown in). His conclusions while not earth shattering are worth pondering. His main point seems to be that there are valid reasons for striving towards any formulation of the truth whether that is proving some conjecture about a mathematical object or considering the best course of action in life. While different endeavors and requiring different forms of reasoning with different degrees of certainty they are connected in that they are both human endeavors for explaining and predicting the world in which we live.

[Gonzalo Fernández-Victorio · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide tries to introduce you into Mathematics, with a capital M. Not how to operate, but how to understand the big philosophy questions in Maths.
Maybe it was me, but I find the book a bit irregular. At times, there are loads of wrangling with anecdotes, but without a clear path of what is being said. There are brilliant parts, where you really feel you are getting a new perspective. But in general, that wasn't the case for me, so I cannot recommend it.

[Deedigity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mazur does a superb job introducing matematical characters and concepts. The plot had little to do with rainforests, and had a completely unnecessary sex scene. Highly rated due to the accessibility granted to mathematical ideas by way of fictional conversation. Mazur needed to do this because sadly, most accessible mathematical conversations are fictitious.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book which enlightened and enthused me about the Pythagorean theorem.

[Jimi'O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about maths which takes a village sage's approach , telling a story in the author's life which comes across interesting and relatable using to tie in mathematical concepts; which include proving a square and the zeno paradoxes amongst other things.

The author has a very readable form of writing.

The book certainly allowed me to understand some concepts( and mathematics in general) a lot better and it provided proofs for various problems which did motivate me to take out a notepad and study the problem - something a good math book should do...

[Mary-Jean Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a captivating book on math, philosophy, and our understanding of the world. The stories from the author were a great addition, recounting people he met through his travels who gave him insights into mathematics. Some stories could have been shortened or removed but they rounded out the book nicely overall. I found some of the appendices poorly explained and even coming from a mathematical background I couldn't follow some of it. But all in all an insightful and fun book for anyone interested in math, philosophy, and epistemology!

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of the book consists of indulgent travelogues from Mazur, in which he travels to obscure parts of the world and invariably encounters mathematical savants with which he engages in complex conversations about statistics. The travelogues did not work for me at all, and while I enjoy popular mathematics books, this one had a starting point that was a bit too advanced for me (which is not Mazur's fault). I'm sure some folks will enjoy the book (maybe in my family), but it didn't work for me.

[Trantienbaoanh]

It's amazing book I have seen

[Liam Connolly]

A fun and interesting read covering logic, infinity, and chance. Quite similar to GEB, though I felt the latter was a better read (albeit thrice the length!)

[Brice Karickhoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math is so much more than people give it credit for. If you like music and reading, you'd also like math theory if you gave it a chance. Its every bit as artful. And this book gets that across.

[Larry Gundy]

Deep math thinking.
Rereading that paragraph again.
Renewed 5 times!
Check it out for yourself.

[Scott Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. I actually finished this book a couple months ago and so its a bit of a struggle to recall exactly what the pros and cons are. It was good enough to sustain my interest until the end! So that says something I guess. This is not a book I would recommend at the top of the list of the genre of "pop math" books though. That of course leads to the question: "what are your top recommendations in the genre of pop math books" and of course I am at a loss right now. I have several at home, some of which I have actually read! Let me get back to you on that...

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay--lots of stuff on logic. There were some good examples that I might use in my geometry class. Interesting stories about people the author met on his travels. I wouldn't read it unless you like math though.

[Rangiras]

Very interesting book. Though the subject matter is mathematics, it reads like a good story.

[Carlos Cardenas]

Fascinating look into the world of mathematical understanding and past theoretical discoveries

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While some of the mathematics were beyond me, this book was well-written and enjoyable to read. The broad co concepts, like infinity and logic, were discussed coherently with interesting anecdotes.

[Jo Oehrlein]

Recommended by Sue Van Hattam
http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/20...

[Mishehu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Math bits are decent, but book adds little to other popular treatments. Autobiographical bits are a completely superfluous bore.

[нєνєℓ ¢ανα · Rating 3 out of 5]

The purpose was good and noble, the result quite different though... it's just an introduction to logic...

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Liked the parts about infinity and sets. Very related to my job. Was never gripped though and I felt it meandered in parts, hence the 4.

[Paolo Merolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Mazur illuminates how we uncover truth in the tangled web of our experiences–and convince ourselves that we are right.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd little book. Half 'math for non-math people' book, half travelogue? It seems to be a mix that, while ambitious, isn't particularly useful. Or, at least, it didn't appeal to me.