From: Hackett Publishing Company Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Hackett Publishing Company Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: 2001-03
Product Description: A reprint of the Bobbs-Merrill edition of 1970.
These essays lead the reader through the land of the wonderful shrinking genie to the warehouse where the "infinity machines" are kept. By careful examination of a lamp that is switched on and off infinitely many times, or the workings of a machine that prints out an infinite decimal expansion of pi, we begin to understand how it is possible for Achilles to overtake the tortoise. The concepts that form the basis of modern science-space, time, motion, change, infinity-are examined and explored in this edition. Includes an updated bibliography.
Great Investigation of the Notion of Infinity I really enjoyed this book. It's a great survey of the notion of infinity, and the quality of the prose is, for the most part, very good. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy, mathematics, or the history of thought.
Good Survey of Modern Reaction This is a great introduction to the modern reaction to Zeno's paradoxes. The most important articles from Russell to the debates on infinity machines are included. The bibliography, at over 200 works, is the best I've seen. There is a mathematical bent to most of the articles, usually in the form of questions of infinity, or measure theory. Nonetheless, there are articles by philosophers who reject the idea of a completed infinity. I did a semester-long college project on Zeno's paradoxes, focusing on mathematical implications, and this was the most useful sourcebook by far.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
