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The Outer Limits of Reason
What Science, Mathematics, and Logic Cannot Tell Us
Series: The MIT Press
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,036 ratings, 105 reviews)
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The Outer Limits of Reason
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
An exploration of the scientific limits of knowledge that challenges our deep-seated beliefs about our universe, our rationality, and ourselves.
Yanofsky has brought together insights about quantum mechanics, logic, and mathematics under one rubric. Very few others could pull that off. This book has the potential to be a classic. -- Prakash Panangaden, School of Computer Science, McGill University
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
An exploration of the scientific limits of knowledge that challenges our deep-seated beliefs about our universe, our rationality, and ourselves. Many books explain what is known about the universe. This book investigates what cannot be known. Rather than exploring the amazing facts that science, mathematics, and reason have revealed to us, this work studies what science, mathematics, and reason tell us cannot be revealed. In The Outer Limits of Reason, Noson Yanofsky considers what cannot be predicted, described, or known, and what will never be understood. He discusses the limitations of computers, physics, logic, and our own thought processes.
Yanofsky describes simple tasks that would take computers trillions of centuries to complete and other problems that computers can never solve; perfectly formed English sentences that make no sense; different levels of infinity; the bizarre world of the quantum; the relevance of relativity theory; the causes of chaos theory; math problems that cannot be solved by normal means; and statements that are true but cannot be proven. He explains the limitations of our intuitions about the worldβour ideas about space, time, and motion, and the complex relationship between the knower and the known.
Moving from the concrete to the abstract, from problems of everyday language to straightforward philosophical questions to the formalities of physics and mathematics, Yanofsky demonstrates a myriad of unsolvable problems and paradoxes. Exploring the various limitations of our knowledge, he shows that many of these limitations have a similar pattern and that by investigating these patterns, we can better understand the structure and limitations of reason itself. Yanofsky even attempts to look beyond the borders of reason to see what, if anything, is out there.
This exploration of the scientific limits of knowledge challenges our deep-seated beliefs about our universe, our rationality, and ourselves.
"A must-read for anyone studying information science." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
Series: The MIT Press
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The Outer Limits of Reason
An exploration of the scientific limits of knowledge that challenges our deep-seated beliefs about our universe, our rationality, and ourselves. Many books explain what is known about the universe. This book investigates what cannot be known. Rather than exploring the amazing facts that science, mathematics, and reason have revealed to us, this work studies what science, mathematics, and reason tell...Paperback$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Noson S. Yanofsky's The Outer Limits of Reason is praised for its clarity and coverage of complex subjects, exploring the limitations of reason in various disciplines such as mathematics, language, and science. Reviewers commend the book's engaging style and its ability to make mind-bending ideas accessible and stimulating for a diverse audience, suggesting it as a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the intersection between reasoning and the limits of knowledge.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780262529846
Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 November 2016
Country: United States
Imprint: MIT Press
Illustration: 118 b&w illus.; 236 Illustrations
Audience: Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 22.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 428
About the Author
Noson S. Yanofsky is Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is a coauthor of Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists.
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