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Paradoxes
- Guiding Forces in Mathematical Exploration
- Narrated by: Louis Daniel Smith
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
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Paradoxes
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Publisher's summary
A riveting account of paradoxes and their impact on mathematics
Does .999... equal 1? Can a sphere be reassembled into two identically sized spheres? Is the consistency of mathematical systems unprovable? Surprisingly, the answer to all of these questions is yes! And at the heart of each question, there lies paradox.
For millennia, paradoxes have shaped mathematics and guided mathematical progress. From the ancient paradoxes of Zeno to the modern paradoxes of Russell, paradoxes remind us of the constant need to revamp our mathematical understanding. It is for this reason that paradoxes are so important.
Paradoxes: Guiding Forces in Mathematical Exploration provides a survey of mathematical paradoxes spanning a wide variety of topics; delving into each paradox mathematically, philosophically, and historically. Listeners will gain a full picture of how paradoxes have contributed to and guided the progress of mathematics in many ways.
Paradoxes also provides the listener with a robust argument for the inclusion of paradoxes in education. This is all presented in a way that is accessible to anyone with a high school background in mathematics! Entertaining and educational, this book will appeal to any listener looking for a mathematical and philosophical challenge.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 626
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 531
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 533
Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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A Most Elegant Equation
- Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics
- By: David Stipp
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 266
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Story4 out of 5 stars 263
Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good treatment of the subject
- By Kindle Customer on 04-09-18
By: David Stipp
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
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The Trouble with Physics
- The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 528
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 353
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Story4 out of 5 stars 356
In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics - the search for the laws of nature - is losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the publics imagination -- and the imagination of experts.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Strings snipped
- By J B Tipton on 06-06-10
By: Lee Smolin
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Undeniable
- How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed
- By: Douglas Axe
- Narrated by: Neil Hellegers
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 306
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 269
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 268
Throughout his distinguished and unconventional career, engineer-turned-molecular-biologist Douglas Axe has been asking the questions that much of the scientific community would rather silence. Now, he presents his conclusions in this brave and pioneering book. Axe argues that the key to understanding our origin is the "design intuition" - the innate belief held by all humans that tasks we would need knowledge to accomplish can be accomplished only by someone who has that knowledge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Seductively Challenge what are consider facts
- By Rafael Vila on 10-08-16
By: Douglas Axe
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The Landscape of History
- How Historians Map the Past
- By: John Lewis Gaddis
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
What is history, and why should we study it? Is there such a thing as historical truth? Is history a science? One of the most accomplished historians at work today, John Lewis Gaddis, answers these and other questions in this short, witty, and humane book. The Landscape of History provides a searching look at the historian's craft as well as a strong argument for why a historical consciousness should matter to us today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Book!
- By Billy on 09-15-18
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The King of Infinite Space
- Euclid and His Elements
- By: David Berlinski
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Geometry defines the world around us, helping us make sense of everything from architecture to military science to fashion. And for over 2,000 years, geometry has been equated with Euclid's Elements, arguably the most influential book in the history of mathematics. In The King of Infinite Space, renowned mathematics writer David Berlinski provides a concise homage to this elusive mathematician and his staggering achievements.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Funniest Highest and Fullest math overview
- By Francisco Garcia on 12-12-22
By: David Berlinski
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The Big Picture
- On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,093
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,721
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,692
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?
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5 out of 5 stars
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ABSOLUTE MUST READ!
- By serine on 05-12-16
By: Sean Carroll
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Significant Figures
- The Lives and Work of Great Mathematicians
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 248
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 207
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Beware
- By Anton Kurtz on 12-08-18
By: Ian Stewart
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The Invention of Science
- A New History of the Scientific Revolution
- By: David Wootton
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 22 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back 500 years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A Good Read Spoiled
- By David A. Donnelly on 12-23-16
By: David Wootton
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Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Jeff Crawford
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 419
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 356
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Story4 out of 5 stars 350
Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.
- By LongerILiveLessIKnow on 11-14-13
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Spooky Action at a Distance
- The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time-and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything
- By: George Musser
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 655
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 576
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Story4 out of 5 stars 574
What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally stop to ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time. The phenomenon - the ability of one particle to affect another instantly across the vastness of space - appears to be almost magical.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Rambling but Asks Good Questions
- By Michael on 12-19-15
By: George Musser
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 670
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 549
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 544
Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not written to be read aloud
- By A Reader in Maine on 02-21-20
By: Steven Strogatz
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A Theory of Everything (That Matters)
- A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God
- By: Alister McGrath
- Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
- Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Einstein’s revolutionary scientific ideas have transformed our world, ushering in the nuclear age. The current pace of scientific and technological progress is simply astounding. So is there any place for faith in such a world? Einstein himself gave careful thought to the deepest questions of life. His towering intellectual status means he is someone worth listening to when we think through the big questions of life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Makes you think...
- By Katy Bagdon on 10-10-19
By: Alister McGrath
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Where the Conflict Really Lies
- Science, Religion, & Naturalism
- By: Alvin Plantinga
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 245
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 214
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 214
This audiobook is a long-awaited major statement by a pre-eminent analytic philosopher, Alvin Plantinga, on one of our biggest debates - the compatibility of science and religion. The last twenty years has seen a cottage industry of books on this divide, but with little consensus emerging. Plantinga, as a top philosopher but also a proponent of the rationality of religious belief, has a unique contribution to make. His theme in this short book is that the conflict between science and theistic religion is actually superficial, and that at a deeper level they are in concord.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The reader makes or breaks an audiobook.
- By Alec on 02-16-15
By: Alvin Plantinga
What listeners say about Paradoxes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Master
- 01-16-21
A Great Explanatory Story of Paradoxes
I found this book both interesting and thought-provoking. I expected to listen to a list of paradoxes with explanations; however, what is contained in this book is much better than that. The author writes in a way that presents many paradoxes in a historically based story format. This makes the content entertaining, fascinating, and educational at the same time. The flow of the book is logical and I found myself making a concerted effort to find time to hear the next part of the story. The author concludes that mathematical paradoxes have made significant impacts on society in the fields of mathematics, physics, and computer science. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in math and higher-level thinking.
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