The Great Math War: How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics - Hardcover

A bitter, decades-long feud over what mathematics actually is. Hilbert, Brouwer, and Gödel battled to define the very foundations of the discipline.

In the early 20th century, three mathematicians were locked in a conflict that sounds like philosophy but was really about power. Hilbert wanted to prove mathematics is complete and consistent. Brouwer thought intuition was primary. Gödel proved you can't prove completeness. The argument reshaped mathematics and logic. What seems like abstract philosophy actually changed what was possible to compute.

Mathematicians and computer scientists read this for the history of foundations and computability. Philosophers read it for the logic. Faculty in math history assign it to majors contemplating what mathematics is and how we know. It's also just a great story about brilliant people being fundamentally at odds.

DETAILS
- Hardcover
- Mathematics history, logic, philosophy of math, biography