About this title: 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. Exiled to remote Russian outposts, the monks and their mystical movement went underground. Ultimately, they came across Russian intellectuals who embraced Name Worshipping - and who would achieve one of the biggest mathematical breakthroughs of the twentieth century, going beyond recent French achievements. Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor take us on an exciting mathematical mystery tour as they unravel a bizarre tale ...
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard Univers
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780674032934ISBN:0674032934
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Belknap Pr
Date Published: 2009-03-31
ISBN-13:9780674032934ISBN:0674032934
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780674032934. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Belknap Press
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780674032934ISBN:0674032934
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Belknap Press
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780674032934ISBN:0674032934
Description: BRAND NEW HARDCOVER. 8.3 by 6 inches. [allow 1-2 weeks transit to europe]. (00239 pages) illustrated lang=english accessory: no accessory (Hardcover ) read more
Description: New. The intellectual drama will attract readers who are interested in mystical religion and the foundations of mathematics. The personal drama will attract readers who are interested in a human tragedy with characters who met their fates with exceptional... read more
"Most westerners aren't familiar with Russian spirituality, especially the way it has been interwound with political issues. This is a book first and foremost about the emergence of a highly influential group of pure mathematicians, but it's the human side that is deeply gripping. There's tragedy and betrayal, but also some uplifting humanity."
"The Moscow School of Mathematics' story is fascinating, but the two mathematician authors are not the ones to write it. In 1913, a monastery was stormed to end a cult of Name Worshippers. Math students were obsessed by naming. Influential mathematicians were also mystics and combined the two in their classes until the revolution stopped them. Set Theory was developed in the early 20th century by these unusual brilliant people who later suffered terribly."
"This is an overall good book that presents the human side of important French and Russian mathematicians of the early 1900's in a frank and interesting way. The intellectual drama around set theory and the socio-political and religious contexts that accompany the creation and evolution of the Moscow School of Mathematics are breathtaking. I enjoyed the details on how professors and students worked together inspired by challenging questions and thoughts, mostly sparked by their shared vibrant intellectual and cultural university environment, although some of these professor-student relations evolved into disappointing academic jealousy episodes. It is also enlightening to see that the right mixture of total immersion in mathematical thinking with nature, mysticism, and self-reflection can become powerful enablers of creativity. All this interesting material is mostly contained within the inner sections of the book. However, the first and last sections are a little bit disappointing in that their linkages with the rest of the book are not too strong, thus the four stars. The last section in particular is also too vague, and the efforts of the authors to highlight the impact of set theory developments on modern mathematics and future research are insufficient.
Despite the sense of disconnection between the first and last parts of the book with the rest of the rich narrative, the book is a worthwhile reading and I will recommend it to my students. However, I also will recommend them to find the mathematical details that should have been included in the book, maybe as an appendix. The basics of set theory, descriptive set theory, Markov chains, and other topics could have been part of the book to make it more self-contained.
In terms of personal learning, through historical examples, the book teaches the importance of continuously asking deep questions, being surrounded by thinkers, and remaining engaged with academic and intellectual discussions. Dedication to reading, writing, and sharing of ideas jump as key factors for pushing the boundaries of knowledge. I liked the Luzin's approach where students are treated as intellectual equals, so that they feel empowered and creative, as well as the Alexandrov's approach to work on difficult problems for months as long as it is within enjoyable environments."
"Graham and Kantor take several interesting subjects--the development of set theory; religious strife in early 20th century Russia; and the persecution of mathematicians by the Soviets---and try to put them together. The connections are flimsy (two dissimilar meanings of "naming" treated as one, for example), and the book never coheres. It appears that they came by notes from a Russian archive and tried to figure out how to make a book out of odd pieces that interested them. Perhaps would have been better to write the three as independent parts of a trilogy...? Read the first sixty or so pages of this with the first half of Amir Aczel's THE MYSTERY OF THE ALEPH (an only slightly better-written book) and you'll get a fuller picture of set theory and those involved. There's a lot of info to be mined here, but the book itself is a shambles."
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