Share <Embed>

Buy Used

$47.40

+ $3.99 shipping

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by _nearfine_

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

16 used & new from $47.38

See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Forever Undecided: A Puzzle Guide to Godel Paperback – November 30, 2000

by Raymond M. Smullyan (Author)

5 customer reviews

See all 5 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$18.59

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$35.00

$1.91

Paperback

"Please retry"

—

$145.04

$1.09

Paperback, November 30, 2000

—

$180.98

$47.38

A challenging puzzle collection and an instructive and entertaining introduction to Kurt Godel's famous theorems, including incompleteness and undecidability. Much of the action of the book takes place on an imaginary and magical island, the Island of Knights and Knaves, where knights always make true statements, knaves always make false statements, and every inhabitant is either a knight or a knave. Here we meet an amazing array of characters, visitors to the island, seeking to determine the natives' true identities. Among them are the census-taker McGregor; a philosopher-logician in search of his flighty bird-wife Oona; and a regiment of Reasoners. By following the Reasoners through brain-tingling exercises and adventures - including journeys into the "other possible worlds" of Kripke semantics - even the most illogical of us should come to understand Godel's theorems, some of their philosophical and mathematical implications and why we, like Godel himself, must remain forever undecided! The book is intended for puzzle fans of every age and ability - from the high-school whizz to the seasoned mathematician, logician or computer scientist.

Forever Undecided: A Puzzle Guide to Godel

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.

Raymond M. Smullyan

32

Paperback
$9.17
Raymond M. Smullyan

19

Paperback
$14.95
Raymond M. Smullyan

14

Paperback
Raymond M. Smullyan

15

Paperback
$19.95
Raymond M. Smullyan

16

Paperback
$7.95
Raymond Smullyan

14

Paperback
$14.95

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

(What's this?)

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks (November 30, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0192801414
ISBN-13: 978-0192801418
Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,641,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2001 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Quizzes
- #2159 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Pure Mathematics > Logic
- #5532 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Puzzles

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

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

(What's this?)

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		80%
4 star		0%
3 star		20%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

Write a customer review

See all 5 customer reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Logic in ready-to-use, bit-sized chunks

ByEpictetuson January 4, 2009

Format: Paperback

This book was recommended (an aeon ago) in my undergraduate philosophy class, with the recommendation that if one will bother to think through each example, then one will become very good at formal logic. Many years later I have found time to do this. So many things can keep me awake at night, idle thoughts, terror at the credit crisis, and so on. Now I read one puzzle from Smullyan, and gently tug my mind back to it if it wanders as I lie in bed. This has been a revolution for me. Either I learn something or I sleep better.
This book hits the happy medium between on the one hand an overly formal approach to logic such that it is unsuitable for anything but hard work or formal study and on the other a text that is watered down to the extent of being useless.
I do not recommend my particular way of reading this as the only way or the best way, but merely as an example of how it has worked very well for me. The practical benefit of using this book and learning from it is that one can grasp arguments and any problem in them much more rapidly than before, both in work and non-work life.

I recommend this book very highly to anyone at any level who is interested in logic, language, problem solving or reasoning.

EPICTETUS

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Wonderful -- deep and entertaining.

ByRaghuveer Parthasarathyon December 11, 2014

Format: Paperback

I stumbled on this book by accident, wandering through the Math library at Berkeley when I was an undergrad, and I was immensely glad I read it. In contrast to the many "descriptions" of Godel's theorems that leave one still wondering what they really are, Smullyan's book actually guides the reader through the logic. Better yet, it's done with Smullyan's enormously fun puzzles! A wonderful book.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Five Stars

ByJohn B Ronnauon September 12, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Fast shipping and great book!

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Unique method uses puzzles to explain Go:del's theorem

ByA customeron September 2, 1998

Format: Hardcover

This is a great book for anyone wanting to understand Go:del's theorem, which basically proves that logic is inherently flawed. The book is very readable. Just make sure that you don't let your head explode.

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Where is an example?

ByDr. Lee D. CarlsonHALL OF FAMEon December 22, 2002

Format: Hardcover

In the every day practice of mathematics or viewing the works of others, I have never ran across or derived a self-referential statement of the kind that Goedel used in his proof of the incompleteness theorems. The appearance of these kinds of statements takes place only in the context of mathematical logic, and their construction is is somewhat artificial, involving the use of 'diagonalization'. It is for this reason that I don't find the incompleteness theorems in any way troubling for the "truth" of mathematics. If they kept arising in the everyday practice of mathematics, this would lend support to the incompleteness theorems. As such though there is no "empirical" support for them, and until they do arise they can be safely ignored.
The results of Goedel have been used to cast doubt on the "foundations" of mathematics and the "strong AI" problem. But they have also been used to support "strong AI", as it is felt that the existence of self-referential statements are an indication that a machine is conscious. All of these arguments are interesting, but they have yet to help in the practice of mathematics or in the construction of intelligent machines. In fact, too long an emphasis on these results has probably retarded the advancement of artificial intelligence research. The incompleteness theorems though have stimulated research in the field of 'automatic theorem proving' and in this respect they can be said to have had some value.
This book gives an overview of Goedel's incompleteness theorems and its corollaries from a "semi-popular" point of view, meaning that readers are expected to have some background in elementary logic as well as philosophy, in order to appreciate the contents. The author is eloquent and enthusiatic throughout the book, and this serves to make the book more palatable for the absolute beginner. It would be unfortunate maybe that readers will begin to doubt the "truth" of mathematics after reading this book, but that doubt could also be viewed as a virtue, in that it would motivate further thinking and research. But again, to this date there has been no self-referential statement that has appeared in the everyday practice of mathematics....that I know of anyway.

33 comments 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

What Is the Name of This Book?: The Riddle of Dracula and Other Logical Puzzles (Dover Recreational Math) Paperback

Raymond M. Smullyan

32

$9.17
The Gödelian Puzzle Book: Puzzles, Paradoxes and Proofs Paperback

Raymond M. Smullyan

19

$14.95
Alice in Puzzle-Land: A Carrollian Tale for Children Under Eighty (Dover Recreational Math) Paperback

Raymond M. Smullyan

14

$12.85
King Arthur in Search of His Dog and Other Curious Puzzles (Dover Books on Mathematics) Paperback

Raymond M. Smullyan

3

$7.95

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads

6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Rare Books & Textbooks	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web	Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	AmazonFresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door

AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Handpicked Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Inspire Free Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services	Audible Download Audio Books

BeautyBar.com Prestige Beauty Delivered	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Casa.com Kitchen, Storage & Everything Home	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	CreateSpace Indie Print Publishing Made Easy	Diapers.com Everything But The Baby

DPReview Digital Photography	East Dane Designer Men's Fashion	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Junglee.com Shop Online in India

Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital Publishing Made Easy	Prime Now FREE 2-Hour Delivery on Everyday Items	Prime Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Soap.com Health, Beauty & Home Essentials	TenMarks.com Math Activities for Kids & Schools

Wag.com Everything For Your Pet	Warehouse Deals Open-Box Discounts	Whispercast Discover & Distribute Digital Content	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Yoyo.com A Happy Place To Shop For Toys	Zappos Shoes & Clothing

Buy Used $47.40

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Forever Undecided: A Puzzle Guide to Godel Paperback – November 30, 2000

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

Product Details

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested In These Sponsored Links

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Buy Used

$47.40