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The Value of Science: Essential Writings of Henri Poincare (Modern Library Science)

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Some historical figures are known to all cultured persons. Leo
Tolstoy, Johannes Brahms, Vincent Van Gogh -- these are names of
which most of us would be embarrassed to be ignorant. On the
other hand, few of us would think to add the name of Jules Henri
Poincare to this list; and yet, if we did, it would tower over
all the rest. For Poincare was a mathematician of the very
highest rank, an astonishingly fertile creative genius whose
prescient insight and technical mastery utterly transformed the
art to which he devoted his life. Among his predecessors in the
three-thousand-year history of mathematics, only Archimedes,
Newton, Euler, and Gauss can be said to have equalled or
exceeded him. By any standard, Poincare was one of the truly
great.

If for no other reason than this, THE VALUE OF SCIENCE is well
worth reading. It is, after all, quite rare to find a book that
collects the thoughts of one of the very few genuinely profound
intellects in human history. But what makes THE VALUE OF
SCIENCE truly wonderful is that it is not merely worth reading:
it is, in fact, a joy to read. For in addition to his uncanny
mathematical gifts, Poincare had the knack of expressing
himself beautifully in writing. Even in translation, his prose
has an admirable lucidity and grace, and his aphoristic style
often makes him highly quotable. When he speaks of mathematical
creation, as he does in a celebrated essay of that name, he
offers general readers a fascinating glimpse into the depths
of his own extraordinary mind at the peak of its imaginative
frenzy; his (scrupulously non-technical) account of one of his
greatest mathematical discoveries supplies an unforgettable
intellectual thrill, a sort of electric shock for the soul. For
anyone interested in the psychology of creation, this is simply
irresistible stuff.

A final brief caveat: although Poincare was clearly the greatest
mathematician of his time, he was not the greatest physicist. A
curious wrong-headedness kept him from beating Albert Einstein
to the creation of special relativity, and general relativity
eventually proved Poincare wrong in some of his opinions on the
relation between physics and geometry. So when Poincare speaks
of physics, bear in mind that some of his positions no longer
seem really tenable.

But this is no reason not to read every word of THE VALUE OF
SCIENCE. It's a marvelous book, and its author was a marvelous
man. Get to know them both. You'll be glad you did.

In a first reading of "THE VALUE OF SCIENCE", it may look like that Poincaré works' main contribution was to expose the science in XIX. But looking further the surface, you can realize his great influence in the work of important scientists from the last century (i.e. Einstein, Heisenberg and Bohr, for instance). In "THE VALUE OF SCIENCE" and "SCIENCE AND HYPOTHESIS" there are lots of insights about Relativity, Uncertainty Principle, Correspondence Principle, Mathematics Incompleteness, etc. If in one hand we have that Poincaré approached lots of genius questions and his answers are no longer seen as right, on the other hand, as himself have said, some mathematicians let themselves be guided by intuition, making some quick achievements, even insecure ones, as if they are daring knights in the front line.

Poincaré is not just the greatest science philosopher of all times ever and an outstanding genius as a mathematician and a mathematical physicist, he was also elected to the Académie Francaise in 1909, what is a proof that reading "THE VALUE OF SCIENCE" is a delighted and funny duty.

How many books on science and math have you read and said: "I just couldn't put it down. It made me dwell on many of the things that I take for granted and it challenged or even changed some of my views"? I cannot think of many, but this comes immediately to mind as do some of Mr. Gould's books. Although not an elementary or introductory text (from a 21st century perspective) of the scientific method, it is a very eloquent discourse in the pitfalls of its application (or mis-application).

Poincare is one of the best prose writers I have ever read. I highly recommend this book.

As other reviewers have written, Henri Poincaré was one of the truly great geniuses that mankind produced. Besides being one of the greatest mathematicians of all time he was also a gifted writer and science popularizer, like Carl Sagan seven decades later. Here we can find something of what Poincaré wrote for the general (albeit educated) public. The texts are one century old and much of the subject matter is outdated, but the essence, what really matters, is still there as valid today as it was when Poincaré put it in words. Great book by a great and deep thinker.

There are two kinds of people in the world: fans of Poincare's writings, and those who have never read his writings.

Each of us fans have our favorite, and for me it is Science and Method. But no matter which of his books you connect with, it will become an addiction.

After a few chapters you will find a sentence which you have seen before, and it is because Poincare is often quoted, but rarely cited. While these writings are over 100 years old, the questions he asks of himself and the reader are just as relevent today. In Science and Method he makes the argument that science for the sake of science has more value than science for the sake of business. And that even research which disproves a hypothesis has value, because the process of the scientific method will in itself yield a benefit they may not be apparent at the time.

And the really profound part is that discovery simply for the sake of commerce has very little benefit on society as a whole, since it is not shared with other researchers.

I am doing a poor job of paraphrasing, but you get the point.

His writing style is an easy read even today.

Well worth the price.

This volume is a handy collection of three of the most important books he wrote for general consumption. The translation is clear, and the 19th/early 20th century flavor of the writing comes through without sounding archaic.