Word: mathematicians
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...ever understand the logic and the theory behind their calculations. The works of Plato, Euclid, and Newton, upon which all of modern science and commerce depend, are as much philosophical statements about the structure of the universe as they are mathematical treatises. In “Is God a Mathematician?” Mario Livio attempts to impress upon the reader this fundamental connection between math and philosophy while presenting a “greatest hits” summary of man’s foremost mathematical achievements...
...Livio concedes on his first page that the notion of God as a mathematician is “neither a philosophical attempt to define God… nor a shrewd scheme to intimidate math phobics.” Instead, Livio is trying to entice lay readers to crack open his book and appreciate the “omnipresence and omnipotent powers of mathematics.” Its focus is the impressive notion that “the same global, coherent mathematics” can be used by a wide variety of scientists, engineers, economists, and doctors to explain such seemingly...
...Livio’s biggest hurdle to overcome with “Is God a Mathematician?” is making over two millennia of high-level mathematical discoveries accessible to the reader who has never studied the more inscrutable and elaborate non-Euclidean geometry or knot theory. And it would seem that if anyone is primed for success in this difficult endeavor, it’s Livio, who is both an astrophysicist and the head of the Office of Public Outreach at the Hubble Space Telescope Institute. But while his approach is appealing to any curious reader, his inability...
...Mathematician?” is driven by Livio’s love for math and his personal desire to share his awe at its power to explain worldly phenomena. Despite his passion, both Livio’s writing and argument are uneven. At times his prose reads like a history textbook, at others like a review of the latest research in astrophysics. Belying his vigorous attempt to write to the reader, Livio struggles in vain to include sufficient background information necessary for the average reader to match his own remarkable comprehension and unique enthusiasm...
...This gap between Livio and his readers is exacerbated by his failure to reach a satisfying conclusion in the closing pages of “Is God a Mathematician?”. After lauding mathematics as the key to understanding the universe for eight chapters, Livio writes that “mathematics is indeed extraordinarily effective for some descriptions, especially those dealing with fundamental science, but it cannot describe our universe in all its dimensions.” He explains that the predictive and explanatory powers of mathematics have been amplified by scientists who choose to work on problems that...