Indiscrete Thoughts 3rd printing 2000 Edition

by Gian-Carlo Rota (Author), Fabrizio Palombi (Editor)

11 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0817638665

ISBN-10: 0817638660

Why is ISBN important?

Sell yours for a Gift Card
We'll buy it for $9.46
Learn More
Trade in now

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Rent

$59.40

Due Date: May 29, 2016 Rental Details

FREE return shipping at the end of the semester.

In Stock. Rented from Amazon Warehouse Deals , Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with rentals.

List Price: $99.00 Save: $39.60 (40%)

Free Shipping

Don't see your state?

This offer can only be shipped to the states listed below in the dropdown

Add to Rental Cart

More Buying Choices

9 New from $75.47 23 Used from $30.16

32 used & new from $30.16

See All Buying Options

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Indiscrete Thoughts gives a glimpse into a world that has seldom been described - that of science and technology as seen through the eyes of a mathematician. The era covered by this book, 1950 to 1990, was surely one of the golden ages of science and of the American university. Cherished myths are debunked along the way as Gian-Carlo Rota takes pleasure in portraying, warts and all, some of the great scientific personalities of the period. Rota is not afraid of controversy. Some readers may even consider these essays indiscreet. This beautifully written book is destined to become an instant classic and the subject of debate for decades to come.

Indiscrete Thoughts

Available from these sellers.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Mark Kac

1

Paperback
$99.00
Mark Kac
Paperback
$89.99
Fabrizio Palombi
Paperback
$33.95
Jean Dhombres
Hardcover
$259.00
Gian-Carlo Rota

1

Hardcover

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: Birkhäuser; 3rd printing 2000 edition (December 18, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0817638660
ISBN-13: 978-0817638665
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #132 in Books > Science & Math > Evolution > Game Theory
- #229 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Pure Mathematics > Logic
- #496 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > History

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Important Information

Ingredients
Example Ingredients

Directions
Example Directions

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars

5 star		82%
4 star		18%
3 star		0%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

See all 11 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

A Philosopher With an Axe To Grind

By Bob Burton(wapo155@twp.com) on December 9, 1998

Format: Hardcover

It appears that Gian-Carlo Rota straddled the boundary between mathematics and philosophy for quite a while before drifting over to the latter realm, where he focuses his energies, at least in this book, on the history and ontology of mathematics. As a devout phenomenologist, a dedicated follower of Heidegger and Husserl, he takes up arms against the established pieties of his fellow mathematicians: that mathematics is a formal system, or an abstract structure, or an orderly progression of theorems and proofs. Stuff and nonsense! sayeth Rota; mathematics is the whole fuzzy blob of whatever it is that mathematicians actually do when they're doing mathematics.
I couldn't disagree more. But I'm awed by the man's insights, and, even when his arguments seem riddled with holes, I want to stick with him. No, more than that: I want him here in the room with me so that I can alternately praise him and force him to see the truth.
My guess is that Rota's career as a philosopher is motivated in large part by an innate desire to debunk and a love of argumentation. He's an outrageous fellow and a pleasure to read.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Mathematicians exposed

By Jaime Silvela on October 20, 2002

Format: Hardcover

This book is a pleasure to read, whether or not you're interested in math or philosophy. It stands on the premise that when speaking or writing of science and scientists, we should acknowledge their fallibility and avoid myths. Rota believes the mythification of science and scientists is responsible for many of the flaws in education and science in general.

Accordingly, Rota attempts in this book to show us mathematicians behind the scenes. He exposes the prejudices, mannerisms and also the nice traits of giants such as John von Neumann, Stanislaw Ulam, Willi Feller, Norbert Wiener. His portraits are not based on dull facts, but on lively anecdotes, and you really get a sense of the people he describes. I wish professional biographers took note. Rota also speaks of mathematics and philosophy, again debunking myths and exposing clearly the underlying trends.

As a writer, Rota is fantastic. Through his brief sketches of people, places and events, a connected whole emerges. The clarity of his writing and thought, and his obvious pleasure with words, remind me of Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through it". A bit like poetry in prose.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

Collected wisdoms

By Michael Demkowicz on April 11, 2001

Format: Hardcover

Great mathematicians and philosophers can clearly teach us mathematics and philosophy, but I've always thought they could offer more. As critical and itelligent observers, they can draw attention to unsolved problems. As individuals often privy to the greatest genius of their time, they can pass on the odd bits and pieces of wisdom they inevitably pick up, but can't easily fit into any coherent system.
In this book, Gian-Carlo Rota does what I wish more accomplished figures would do: he writes down a motley asortment of wisdoms he collected throughout his life along with a number of pressing questions he never saw answered. True, there is no one overarching theme in his thoughts, nor does he defend any one particular thesis, but few of us have ever synthesized our thoughts into a coherent system.
Like any good educator, Rota doesn't patronize, nor does he dwell on personal reminiscences. "Indiscrete Thoughts" is his way of exiting the scene, leaving behind all the unfinished business of his day for the next generation of mathematicians and philosophers to pick up.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

personal insight, and amusing observations

By Palle E T Jorgensen VINE VOICE on November 4, 2004

Format: Hardcover

`Funny stories about mathematicians!' An oxymoron, you might counter. Need I say that the title of the book is a pun. If you aren't from math, you might say that it is an inside joke. Pick up the book! If you are anything like me, you will not be able to put it down!

And I think you will not be disappointed; even if you might initially have misgivings.

The book is funny. If you don't believe me, give it a try, and judge for yourself. I had one of the best laughs of the year. The book is also unique in several ways; autobiographical in many ways, and written by an outstanding scientist; one with a rare talent for writing, for making observations about human nature, and for interpersonal skills. Had Rota not turned to math, he might well have become a novelist.

A number of the protagonists in the book are the famous math professors Rota encountered when he was an undergraduate in Princeton in the early fifties; that was also the period of another illustrious mathematician, John Nash [later to become a Nobel Laureate, and the subject of a bestseller, and a movie; `A Beautiful Mind'].

The stories I enjoyed the most in Rota's little book was those about Alonzo Church, a pioneer in logic; William Feller, one of the founders of modern probability theory; Solomon Lefschetz (of topology), to mention only some. But you will likely select your own favorites from Rota's illustrious gallery. Rota paints his subjects with a mix of colors: humor, respect, love, insight in the human soul, wisdom, and personal reflection. What is charming and amusing is to observe thru the eyes of the then young and impressionable undergraduate student Gian-Carlo Rota, that the famous scientists shared personal weaknesses, and failed human relationships, with the rest of us.

Reviewed by Palle Jorgensen, November, 2004.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

See all 11 customer reviews (newest first)

Write a customer review

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Fascinating

He's quite a character, and one with a lot of interesting stories.

Published 2 months ago by vamosrafa

Nice autobiography

I enjoyed it just for the account of Prof. Rota's encounters with other mathematicians. It is a very good autobiography of a mathematician for those who are inclined to these.

Published on September 16, 2013 by Daniel Nathan

refreshingly unconventional

A wonderful collection of essays loosely related to mathematics. The first part contains anecdotes about famous mathematicians of the twentieth century, often focusing on their... Read more

Published on August 28, 2013 by Laszlo Kozma

A note on mathematical beauty

Among the many beautiful articles collected here, I am restricting my comments to the one on "The Phenomenology of Mathematical Beauty," for I think it is a pity that Rota's... Read more

Published on May 19, 2009 by Viktor Blasjo

An insider thoughts about math

Rota is a specialist in a branch of mathematics called combinatorics and he is also a philosopher of the Husserl school (phenomenology). The book has three main parts. Read more

Published on November 29, 2006 by Jaume Puigbo Vila

^v^

It is an amusing series of articles that range from descriptions of (famous) mathematicians and their human side, to (profitable) excursions in philosophy. Read more

Published on May 2, 2005 by Jeremy Chen

A pleasure to read

G-C Rota is truly an astonishing writer. His observations are precise and very phenomenological. I could not let go off his book once I started reading it. Read more

Published on March 14, 1999