1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910460330303321

Autore

Graham Loren R

Titolo

Naming infinity [[electronic resource] ] : a true story of religious mysticism and mathematical creativity / / Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009

ISBN

0-674-05391-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (252 p.)

Classificazione

BH 3200

Altri autori (Persone)

KantorJean-Michel

Disciplina

510.947/0904

Soggetti

Mathematics - Russia (Federation) - Religious aspects

Mysticism - Russia (Federation)

Mathematics - Russia (Federation) - Philosophy

Mathematics - France - Religious aspects

Mathematics - France - Philosophy

Set theory

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-227) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Storming a monastery -- A crisis in mathematics -- The French trio: Borel, Lebesgue, Baire -- The Russian trio: Egorov, Luzin, Florensky -- Russian mathematics and mysticism -- The legendary Lusitania -- Fates of the Russian trio -- Lusitania and after -- The human in mathematics, then and now.

Sommario/riassunto

In 1913, Russian imperial marines stormed an Orthodox monastery at Mt. Athos, Greece to haul off monks engaged in a dangerously heretical practice known as Name Worshipping. Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor take us on an exciting mathematical mystery tour as they unravel a bizarre tale of political struggles, psychological crises, sexual complexities, and ethical dilemmas. The men and women of the leading French and Russian mathematical schools are central characters in this absorbing tale that could not be told until now. Naming Infinity is a poignant human interest story that raises provocative questions about science and religion, intuition and creativity.