Gödel: A Life of Logic, the Mind, and Mathematics [Hardcover]

John Casti (Author), Werner DePauli (Author), John L. Casti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2000

Kurt Gödel was an intellectual giant. His Incompleteness Theorem turned not only mathematics but also the whole world of science and philosophy on its head. Equally legendary were Gödel's eccentricities, his close friendship with Albert Einstein, and his paranoid fear of germs that eventually led to his death from self-starvation. Now, in the first popular biography of this strange and brilliant thinker, John Casti and Werner DePauli bring the legend to life. After describing his childhood in the Moravian capital of Brno, the authors trace the arc of Gödel's remarkable career, from the famed Vienna Circle, where philosophers and scientists debated notions of truth, to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he lived and worked until his death in 1978. In the process, they shed light on Gödel's contributions to mathematics, philosophy, computer science, artificial intelligence--even cosmology--in an entertaining and accessible way.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These authors, both respected academics, hope that "by the time the reader gets to the end of this book, he or she will know why" Kurt G del (1906-78) is one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely. The complexity of the work for which G del is best knownDthe "G del Theorem" (baldly, that deductions from first principles can never be complete)Dis such that it cannot be made comprehensible in a popular treatment such as this. This is not to say that there is not much of interest hereDthere is. There are nice discussions of important contemporary issues, such as computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and more, but none of it makes G del's work any more intelligible. What the reader will find here, howeverDand on this basis alone the book deserves a place in most librariesDis details of the strange life of a mathematical genius who died from self-starvation owing to paranoia that someone was trying to poison his food.DLeon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A splendid nontechnical account of the Gödelian revolution." -- -Martin Gardner -The New Criterion --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (September 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738202746
• ISBN-13: 978-0738202747
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars At Best An Overview, November 11, 2000

By 

Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gödel: A Life of Logic, the Mind, and Mathematics (Hardcover)

This book seems to be put forth as a biography of Godel--at least, that's what I thought I would be getting. As a physics and mathematics teacher, I am very interested in this man who revolutionized 20th century thought. However, only a portion of this already very slight book, is biographical material about Godel. So, if you are looking for a real biography, look elsewhere.

Instead, this book briefly covers Godel's life, briefly covers his work, and briefly covers a few of the effects Godel has had on current thought. In that sense, it is not bad. A person who understands very little about modern mathematical thought but has an interest might find this book digestable and learn a bit. Others are not going to enjoy this book. People with strong backgrounds in mathematics are going to find it too weak and people with weak backgrounds in mathematics are going to find most of it indecipherable.

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars could be worse, November 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gödel: A Life of Logic, the Mind, and Mathematics (Hardcover)

It's depressing to compare this book with "Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Goedel" by Dawson. Dawson's book is illuminating, well researched and well written. It is universally considered to be the definitive biography of Goedel, and I'm not sure why someone would want to write another without some new idea or approach. The book by Casti and De Pauli unfortunately has nothing new to contribute. It's a more superficial account than Dawson's. Dawson's book is based on the premise that the reader has no specialized background but is curious and wants to think; Casti and De Pauli's book seems to be based on the premise that the reader wants a flashy but ultimately unsatisfying overview.

A few of Casti's interests (e.g., Chaitin's work) play a prominent role towards the end of the book, despite being only tenuously connected to Goedel. Sure, they're a late 20th century continuation of Goedel's work, but they represent only a very narrow direction among such continuations, and are not nearly as highly regarded by most logicians as by Casti. They may give readers an unrepresentative view of where Goedel's work has led.

This is not a bad book, and if you want to read a biography of Goedel, it is certainly better than nothing. However, I strongly recommend reading Dawson's book instead.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not all Godel, but all good!, March 31, 2001

By 

Johnny Shapiro (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gödel: A Life of Logic, the Mind, and Mathematics (Hardcover)

Godel was an interesting man who thought up some interesting things. Contrary to the opinions of previous reviewers, I think the authors got the "interesting life/intersting things" ratio of content just about right. The biographical section, which is only really a couple of chapters, certainly expanded my knowledge of his life(all I knew previously was that he was Austrian and neurotic). But his work and it's philosophical implications are far more enthraling than what appears to be years of drinking tea at Princeton( after it had been screened by his wife of course) .Fair enough, much of the book was spent introducing Godel's work but this should have been anticipated and the task was done with some merit.Also, the critisism that the authors diverge from the work of Godel himself is valid, but I do not feel this detracts from the book in any way.By including the work of Turing and Chaittin much later on, we get an idea of the implications his discoveries have had and continue to have. Often we read that the work of any particular famous scientist still has a strong influence today but are not given any concrete examples. This leads ultra-sceptics like me to the belief that writers include commments like this to make their chosen subject appear more relevant and topical.The extensive discussion of Chaittin and his work indicated that Godel really does influence much of todays work in certain fields.The account also happened to be fascinating,well explained and as yet unmentioned in any other books on this subject I have encountered.So what if it was not directly attributibal to Godel, it was welcome bonus material.Perhaps, the only fault is in the title, which may have misled some into thinking the book was more biographical, but the pages inbetween provide a clear and conscise account of Godel and his legacy.