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A Certain Ambiguity: A Mathematical Novel Paperback – July 21, 2010

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Gaurav Suri (Author)
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Gaurav Suri (Author), Hartosh Singh Bal (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 23 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press; With a New foreword by Keith Devlin edition (July 21, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0691146012
  • ISBN-13: 978-0691146010
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Amazing novel about mathematical truth.
By Amazon Customer on August 22, 2007
Format: Hardcover
Good books that attempt to explore mathematical ideas are somewhat rare. Well written novels on deep subjects of any sort are perhaps less rare, but are still hard to find. But a well written novel that explorers the philosophical foundations of math and statements of truth is the rarest of all. Yet Suri and Bal have managed to create a wonderful story of a family and the events that occurred over three generations that also delves deeply into the basis of mathematical and philosophical truths, all while keeping the reader riveted.

The tale of the grandfather's arrest on blasphemy charges in New Jersey in 1919 provides a fascinating background for a dialog between a Judge and the mathematician/grandfather on the subject of certainty and truth. The grandfather teaches the Judge about the foundations of mathematical philosophy, focusing on Euclid's Elements and exploring many areas of math in a simple and clear manner such that anyone could grasp the concepts with only the most basic mathematical background (i.e. middle school level math).

Perhaps the only flaw I can find with the novel is that the Judge is almost too good to be true. He shows an interest in the field of math that I would not expect to find in someone of his position in that time period, but that is a pretty small nit to pick with this wonderful novel.

The novel jumps between the past and the present where the grandson discovers the records of the grandfather's trial and begins to uncover the details as he attends a math class for non-math majors in his last year of college. The grandfather, the grandson, the teacher of the math-for-non-math-majors class, the grandson's friends, and even the judge are all well written, believable characters, people who you care about and want to learn more about.Read more ›
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A physicist's view
By Jorge Medrano on November 25, 2007
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Generally speaking the book is excellent. It of course requires some previous familiarity with Math to fully follow the reasoning in the examples and/or demonstrations. Needless to say, the judge Taylor is way too good to be true. I very much doubt any judge in the '20s or at any other time would have gone to the trouble to understand rigorous reasoning, such as Euclides' "Elements." As a (retired) physicist however, I don't understand the emotional turmoil that Vijay and the judge himself went through when the Eddington's empirical proof that Einstein's view of space-time-gravitation in General Relativity, was right. They agonize over whether Euclides' fifth axiom is true or false. In my view, an axiom cannot be "false." It is a statement that you accept, to be able to build a logically consistent theoretical edifice, following rigorous mathematical reasoning. If you then find contradictions, it means the set of axioms is useless for that purpose, or that they are not logically independent. The question that bothers them is in reality whether that particular theoretical construct, Euclidean geometry, describes physical space in the Universe. And the answer, from a practical point of view, is a resounding "yes" - almost everywhere in the Universe. Only in the vicinity of very large concentrations of mass, such as stars, the curvature of space as described in the equations of General Relativity, has to be taken into account. Of course, I am not trying to trivialize General Relativity in any way; I am perfectly aware of the enormous importance of its new ideas, in particular its new explanation of Gravity, as curvature of space. But curvature is a local property; the Universe is not homogeneous and isotropic on small scales. So, what's all the fuss about the fifth postulate?Read more ›
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
A novel of ideas
By Punya Mishra on September 16, 2007
Format: Hardcover
A Certain Ambiguity is a novel of ideas. A novel about mathematics and its pleasures wrapped up in a mystery (actually two, one about people and the other about mathematics). The manner in which these two mysteries tie into each other lies at the heart of the story. It is a smooth, easy read, despite the serious mathematics that threads through the book. There are people who will focus on the characters and the story and others who will focus on the mathematics, and others who will shift their attention back and forth between the two. (I am guilty of being of the third type, which is great because this is a book that rewards multiple readings.) People who like Douglas Hofstadter and Martin Gardner will love this book, but the author who most comes to mind is Richard Powers. Though the authors don't engage in the same verbal fireworks that makes Powers famous, they, similar to Powers, develop a story that is honest both to the characters and the ideas. No small feat.

Just a side note: This is a book that could not have existed without the Internet - as the two authors live on separate continents. This book was conceived and written as a genuine collaboration using email and regular bouts of instant messaging.

Full disclosure: The authors are old school-friends of mine and this review is based on a pre-publication draft of the book.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Great book for casually introducing a lot of math--falls short eleswhere.
By A. MILLER on June 25, 2010
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The book is fantastic at introducing several of the most well known and intellectually stimulating theorems in mathematics. From the Pythagorean Theorem, to the infinitude of primes, to the Continuum Hypothesis, and even the logical equivalency of Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry. While I do feel that a person without any mathematics instruction at the undergraduate level would struggle to fully follow the proofs and specificities of the mathematics, such a person would still greatly benefit by reading this book, as there is likely not a better place to find all of these concepts introduced in such elementary and casual terms. This is where the book succeeds, however it falls short in other aspects.

From a literary standpoint, the book is certainly not spectacular. Far too often sentences start with "So..." and go on to explain the implications of the previous passage. It is a minor caveat, but the frequency with which "So..." is used just makes it obvious the writers are mathematicians and not fiction authors. There are also several fortuitous happenstances that are all too unbelievable. However, if you are willing to forgive the author's literary shortcomings, then the book is still a nice read.

The philosophical component of the book is indeed stimulating. It makes one think quite a lot about what absolute "certainty" means. I do, however, find the conclusions at the end of the book to be all but unsatisfying. Essentially, the book concludes by saying that mathematical logic is still the best way to "know" something, but we can never be entirely sure which axioms are certainly true.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

I liked it !!!

It had all my favorite story topics
Math-Crime-Philosophy

Published 5 months ago by anthony fratis
MUST READ! It is extra-ordinary.

MUST READ! It is extra-ordinary.

Published 6 months ago by Abhiram Natarajan
An excellent book

Excellent book that reminded me of why I love mathematics. Great for mathematicians and students alike.

Published 12 months ago by solasdeom
good book , shows in a form of a novel some basic maths

i liked the idea of writing maths into a novel. the book makes you think and has provided foor for thought altough a lot of the maths included i already knew. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Pere Anton
For the Love of Math

While a little thin on plot and character development, this book still works as a vessel for communicating the author's love of the field of mathematics. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Andrew J. Valencia
Mathematically & Philosophically life changing

This book was a wonderful story as well as teaching aid that illustrates how powerful mathematics & personal faith are and can truly intertwine to bring people of different... Read more

Published on March 25, 2013 by Stana
intense reading

The story is absorbing and keeps the interest but the mathematics becomes overwhelming even though I did maths at high school.

Published on February 26, 2013 by Donald Faithfull
Maths and life, hard to believe

Its like being back to college studing the maths degree and at the same time reading a Jostein Gaarder novel trying to find the meaning of life. Read more

Published on January 31, 2013 by atobalina
Engaging and smart. A true pleasure to read.

I am a very science oriented reader and enjoy immensely when novels contain facts. This one is a fantastic story that handles marvelously mathematics and a coherent plot. Read more

Published on October 12, 2012 by Alex Porras
the beauty of mathematics

I was very impressed with this book. This is the first book I have ever read, on mathematics or of fiction, that captures the beauty of mathematics. Read more

Published on October 10, 2010 by Michael George

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