Review “For mathematically challenged folk like me, David Berlinski comes again to help with a thin volume that, like his A Tour of the Calculus, renders mathematics not easy, but accessible and absorbing. He portrays through history how mathematical thought evolved, from the genius of the few to its application by the many. Personalities, times, cultures, and opportunities all play their dramatic roles and Berlinski, knowing how they interacted, brings them vividly to life. You’ll enjoy yourself.” –Paul McHugh, Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University“This is literary science at its best. I was charmed by this top-down and introspective presentation of the subject of mathematics. It is not just highly readable; because it is one step above the subject, it can even inspire the professional.” –Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Dean’s Professor in the Sciences of Uncertainty, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, author of Fooled by Randomness“A humorous and graceful short history of mathematics, quite deceptively easy to read. Berlinski is actually a sophisticated insider, and every page of this book glows with his love of mathematics and with his sardonic appreciation for humanity’s foibles.”–Gregory Chaitin, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, author of Meta Math! The Quest for Omega Read more About the Author David Berlinski received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and has taught mathematics, philosophy, and English at Stanford, Rutgers, the University of Puget Sound, and the Université de Paris at Jussieu. He has been a research fellow at both the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France. His many books have been translated into more than a dozen European and Asian languages. His essays in Commentary have become famous. A senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, he lives and works in Paris. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
J**S
His detractors simply don't like poetry.
This book is for people who are interested in math and love poetry and the ways it can weave words to create images and feelings that are new to the reader. New experiences not just new concepts! Some people will always find fault with those whose thought processes are different than theirs. This book is very irritating to those who resent "fancy language" and feel that words they personally do not already know are more words than the English language really needs.Berlinski is a genius who can conjure up (for he is a magician with metaphors) new insights, moods and nuances using words as precisely as razor sharp mathematical concepts. Prosaic souls require that the meaning of a Berlinski sentence unfold itself in their minds instantaneously - or else the fault is Berlinski's. They accuse him of ostentation when he displays greater mastery of the English language than they possess. Criticism of his “…using metaphors and similes that serve no evident purpose…” reveals the intellectual poverty of the critic, not any failing of the poet. They resent the effort required to think a new thought forged in a new form, not noticing that their may be enormous intellectual content whose essence could never be reduced to computer input. A strictly either/or mind, a digital consciousness, cannot abide ambiguity.Berlinski is basically a poet who loves mathematics and science. This is a personal statement that brings more than mere concepts; it brings us new experiences by means of words.
M**E
insightful
Other reviewers have pointed out the excesses in the use of metaphors and other uses of language in this book. In addition, there are a fair number of errors, some of them egregious, as also noted in reviews. The book is written, as well, at a fairly superficial level. Unlike many reviewers, I regard these deficiencies as more than balanced by the presentation of history in the book. In my view, the noted negative points are sufficient to give the book a somewhat lower rating than five stars. On the other hand, I like the way the book was structured, and I felt that, for such a vast field as mathematics has become, Dr. Berlinski has encompassed some important and characteristic aspects of mathematics. He transmits this information in a short book that is easy to read and understand. I thought he gave a pretty good picture of various topics, and I liked his discussion of modern mathematics at the end of the book. Some of what he writes borders on the brilliant. Such a short history obviously needs to be supplemented with other readings and studies, but I enjoyed reading the book, and can recommend his treatment of history as insightful.
J**O
Like a vial of intellectual ether
Berlinski, in typical Berlinski style and wit is in his element with this one. Very interesting and entertaining. Like a vial of intellectual ether, this is definitely a good reviver of the love of learning.
C**R
A quirky commentary rather than a history
The first thing to say is that this book isn't a "short history of mathematics," as the subtitle indicates. Rather, it's a commentary on a handful of key developments in mathematics, namely numbers, proof, analytic geometry, calculus, complex numbers, groups, non-Euclidean (and Euclidean) geometry, sets, and Godel's theorems.David Berlinski is surely brilliant and erudite (and he clearly wants us to realize that), but he's also a quirky fellow who has never really "fit in" with polite academic society, perhaps not even society in general. Stylistically, this book reflects its author, with Berlinski constantly making all sorts of tangential remarks. Overall, I did find his remarks to invigorate the book and entertain, but they don't add much insight. Moreover, some of his remarks are just plain weird and have no place in the book, especially his perverse sexual remarks (and it's telling that he couldn't resist putting them in the book).As far as presenting information about mathematics, this book is rather weak. If you don't already know the mathematics, you won't be able to learn it effectively from this book, since Berlinski compromises clarity for cleverness. And if you do already know the mathematics, you'll still have to do some work to fill in the frequent gaps in Berlinski's presentation. I was also a bit disappointed that Berlinski didn't suggest any further reading; as a non-mathematician with a serious interest in mathematics, surely he could have told like-minded readers about some of the books he's personally found helpful?Overall, I think this book merits 4 stars for entertainment value but only 2 stars for content delivery, so a net 3 stars. With a more honest title like "Comments on Some Milestones of Mathematics," I could have rated this book 4 stars.Since it's a quick read, I can still recommend this book to the mathematically initiated who are looking for entertainment. But I can't recommend it to readers with limited mathematics background, nor to readers looking for a genuine history of mathematics. Personally, I enjoyed this book, but learned almost nothing.
M**.
A VERY BRIEF BUT READABLE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS
Berlinski has a first class mind and it shows in this succinct but excellent history of mathematics. All of the giants of mathematics are here from Pythagoras to Descartes to Newton and Lebiniz, who invented calculus ,to Cantor and his theory of infinite sets to Godel and his famous Incompleteness Theorem.And Berlinski's vivid prose brings each of these mathematical giants to life. The chapter on Evariste Galois, inventor of group theory, who died at the age of twenty in a duel is superb. This chapter leaves one with the feeling that you have briefly walked in the world of Galois. In conclusion, Infinite Ascent is well written with just the right level of mathematical sophistication and it covers 2500 years of mathematical history in a mere 197 pages. I would also strongly suggest THE ADVENT OF THE ALGORITHM, NEWTON'S GIFT, and especially A TOUR OF THE CALCULUS all by Mr. Berlinski.
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