Incompleteness

The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel

By: Rebecca Goldstein

Narrated by: Tom Perkins

"A gem . . . An unforgettable account of one of the great moments in the history of human thought." -Steven Pinker

Probing the life and work of Kurt Gödel, Incompleteness indelibly portrays the tortured genius whose vision rocked the stability of mathematical reasoning—and brought him to the edge of madness.

©2005 Rebecca Goldstein (P)2022 Tantor

Great mix of story bio and science

I like the mix of story, bio, and hard science. I don’t like min word review requirements.

Something New in Someone Old

New, more thorough, take on Kurt Godel. The recognition of his Platonic commitments exactly what I was curious about. Wish it explained why he found Platonic Forms/Realism so convincing.

In depth explanation of a profound theorem and its relationship with greatest thinkers

Accessible yet in depth exploration of a very profound theorem. Situates the discussion within the philosophy of mathematics. The discussion on the interactions with Wittgenstein is particularly interesting as is the interaction with Eisenstein.

great read

really fascinating story, mind bending ideas and great story telling, goes into details that are over my head but that math types would appreciate

drones on and on for hours!

the author failed to talk in depth about the subject and instead filled the book with repeated prose about nothing.