Kurt Gödel : the genius of metamathematics / William D. Brewer.
Brewer, William D. author.
2022
QA29.G63
Available Online

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Title Kurt Gödel : the genius of metamathematics / William D. Brewer.
Author Brewer, William D. author.
ISBN 9783031113093 (electronic bk.)
3031113098 (electronic bk.)
9783031113086
303111308X
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11309-3
Published Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2022.
Language English
Description 1 online resource (xxii, 495 pages) : illustrations (some color).
Item Number 10.1007/978-3-031-11309-3 doi
Call Number QA29.G63
Dewey Decimal Classification 510.92
Summary During his lifetime, Kurt Gödel was not well known outside the professional world of mathematicians, philosophers and theoretical physicists. Early in his career, for his doctoral thesis and then for his Habilitation (Dr.Sci.), he wrote earthshaking articles on the completeness and provability of mathematical-logical systems, upsetting the hypotheses of the most famous mathematicians/philosophers of the time. He later delved into theoretical physics, finding a unique solution to Einstein's equations for gravity, the 'Gödel Universe', and made contributions to philosophy, the guiding theme of his life. This book includes more details about the context of Gödel's life than are found in earlier biographies, while avoiding an elaborate treatment of his mathematical/scientific/philosophical works, which have been described in great detail in other books. In this way, it makes him and his times more accessible to general readers, and will allow them to appreciate the lasting effects of Gödel's contributions (the latter in a more up-to-date context than in previous biographies, many of which were written 15-25 years ago). His work spans or is relevant to a wide spectrum of intellectual endeavor, and this is emphasized in the book, with recent examples. This biography also examines possible sources of his unusual personality, which combined mathematical genius with an almost childlike naiveté concerning everyday life, and striking scientific innovations with timidity and hesitancy in practical matters. How he nevertheless had a long and successful career, inspiring many younger scholars along the way, with the help of his loyal wife Adele and some of his friends, is a fascinating story in human nature.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed September 13, 2022).
Series Springer biographies, 2365-0621
Available in Other Form Print version: 9783031113086
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Preface
Prologue
La Belle Époque in Brünn. Beginnings
School Days. A New Nation
Moving to the Capital. Student Life in 1920's Vienna
The Wiener Kreis and the Mathematical Colloquium. Graduate work
Private Life in Vienna
Gödel's Doctoral Thesis. The Incompleteness Theorems
The Mathematician in Vienna. Habilitation
Matters of Health
A Sojourn Abroad: 1933/34 : Princeton
Back to Vienna. The First Breakdown
'Commuting' between Vienna and Princeton: The Late 1930's. Marriage
The Continuum Hypothesis
Professional Uncertainty. A Long Journey Eastwards
Princeton and the IAS : Philosophy, Einstein and von Neumann. A Bizarre Birthday Present: Gödel's Universe
Reception, Recognition, Honors. Einstein's Loss. The Professor at Princeton
The 1960's: Fame and Seclusion
Later Years. Philosophy, Cosmology, Logic, Computability
Gödel's Legacy : The Lessons of an Unusual Life
Epilogue. .

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