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Logicomix - A comic about the foundational crisis of mathematics

The beginning of the last century, including the search for a foundation, the foundations of mathematics influenced. One way that we know today, from delusion, numerous errors and unexpected and very unpleasant surprises was marked. Rather than a dry text book with literary quotations scientifically correct here the story of a team tries in a comic book about the life of Bertrand Russell tell.

The authors are two mathematicians and two comic book creators from Greece. The Computer Scientist I propose here to views of mathematics. Theoretical computer science has more logic than most mathematicians see in their studies.

The work is called " Logicomix " has a website and is on every online bookseller of choice for about 17, - EUR in English to get. A German translation was published end of August 2010 for 24,90 EUR.

A few comments on the first mathematical comic book in thickness (therefore not competing with xkcd course :-)) that I have read:

1. reading! Power determines every mathematically interested in a lot of joy that does not have an aversion to picture stories .. A required course for all those popular science Mathematics books like. And, unlike a half-baked simplification works here most of the really learn something. The history of mathematics in the study itself is usually a little short.
2. Two great ideas. Once a comic book to choose the format that restricts intellectual byways ever strongly. Second, as a nested construct two stories under a fictitious lecture by Bertrand Russell about his life.
3. Why Russell? Russell, together with the Whitehead "Principia Mathematica" is written, a work with the mathematics "at last" should be placed on a solid foundation that is formalized. This is to some Effect, succeeded, but the difficult pages will be added to the eyelid open. Nearly 300 pages to "1 +1 = 2" to prove appear unreasonable at first, but it is the price for a correct formalization.
4. Gödel has the concept of "truth by formalizing" added to his paper "On formally undecidable propositions of Principia Mathematika" a death blow. This will be staged in Logicomix very beautiful.
5. Logicomix is not a history, some focus on behavior are intentionally wrong. The authors write in the epilogue, she wanted to bring together ideas are historical facts. Hilbert was certainly not present at Gödel's lecture in Vienna (but John von Neumann, was new to me was), but for the drama of history it is a fantastic idea.
6. Russel is reduced but only to his mathematical work, although he has inherited his greatest merits outside of mathematics. Its really worth reading textbook "History of Western Philosophy ," a brazen cross-over of the major classical philosophers is still a "must read". Oh, and then there is also a Nobel Prize for Literature (how many mathematicians have been awarded a Nobel Prize?)

Logicomix is being presented by one of the authors, Apostolos Doxiadis , Germany. On 09/15/2010 at 19:30 in clock Mathematikum in Giessen, and admission is free. More information www.mathematikum.de or www.logicomix.com .