Author: John L. Bell
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 1554813026
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218
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Book Description
Since antiquity, opposed concepts such as the One and the Many, the Finite and the Infinite, and the Absolute and the Relative, have been a driving force in philosophical, scientific, and mathematical thought. Yet they have also given rise to perplexing problems and conceptual paradoxes which continue to haunt scientists and philosophers. In Oppositions and Paradoxes, John L. Bell explains and investigates the paradoxes and puzzles that arise out of conceptual oppositions in physics and mathematics. In the process, Bell not only motivates abstract conceptual thinking about the paradoxes at issue, but he also offers a compelling introduction to central ideas in such otherwise-difficult topics as non-Euclidean geometry, relativity, and quantum physics. These paradoxes are often as fun as they are flabbergasting. Consider, for example, the famous Tristram Shandy paradox: an immortal man composing an autobiography so slowly as to require a year of writing to describe each day of his life — he would, if he had infinite time, presumably never complete the work, although no individual part of it would remain unwritten. Or think of an office mailbox labelled “mail for those with no mailbox”—if this is a person’s mailbox, how can they possibly have “no mailbox”? These and many other paradoxes straddle the boundary between physics and metaphysics, and demonstrate the hidden difficulty in many of our most basic concepts.
Author: Alfred Seabold Eli Ackermann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 148
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Book Description
Author: Agustin Rayo
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262039419
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
An introduction to awe-inspiring ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, and computability theory. This book introduces the reader to awe-inspiring issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics. It explores ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, computability theory, the Grandfather Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Principle of Countable Additivity. The goal is to present some exceptionally beautiful ideas in enough detail to enable readers to understand the ideas themselves (rather than watered-down approximations), but without supplying so much detail that they abandon the effort. The philosophical content requires a mind attuned to subtlety; the most demanding of the mathematical ideas require familiarity with college-level mathematics or mathematical proof. The book covers Cantor's revolutionary thinking about infinity, which leads to the result that some infinities are bigger than others; time travel and free will, decision theory, probability, and the Banach-Tarski Theorem, which states that it is possible to decompose a ball into a finite number of pieces and reassemble the pieces so as to get two balls that are each the same size as the original. Its investigation of computability theory leads to a proof of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, which yields the amazing result that arithmetic is so complex that no computer could be programmed to output every arithmetical truth and no falsehood. Each chapter is followed by an appendix with answers to exercises. A list of recommended reading points readers to more advanced discussions. The book is based on a popular course (and MOOC) taught by the author at MIT.
Author: Mark Chang
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466509872
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 291
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Book Description
Paradoxes are poems of science and philosophy that collectively allow us to address broad multidisciplinary issues within a microcosm. A true paradox is a source of creativity and a concise expression that delivers a profound idea and provokes a wild and endless imagination. The study of paradoxes leads to ultimate clarity and, at the same time, indisputably challenges your mind. Paradoxes in Scientific Inference analyzes paradoxes from many different perspectives: statistics, mathematics, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, and more. The book elaborates on findings and reaches new and exciting conclusions. It challenges your knowledge, intuition, and conventional wisdom, compelling you to adjust your way of thinking. Ultimately, you will learn effective scientific inference through studying the paradoxes.
Author: Steven M. Rosen
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417706
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348
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Book Description
Science, Paradox, and the Moebius Principle confronts basic anomalies in the foundations of contemporary knowledge. Steven M. Rosen deals with paradoxes that call into question our conventional way of thinking about space, time, and the nature of human experience. Rosen's contribution is unique in at least five respects: 1) He provides an unparalleled integration of modern theoretical science and contemporary phenomenological thought. 2) He features a section of dialogue with David Bohm, who contributed greatly in fields of major concern to the book. 3) He sets forth a process theory and philosophy, presenting a concept in which space, time, and consciousness undergo a continuous internal transformation and organic growth. 4) He furnishes a highly specific account of dialectical change, employing geometric forms that bring the dynamics of paradox into focus with unprecedented clarity. 5) He is transdisciplinary and provides transcultural bridges between the "two cultures" of science and the humanities.
Author: U. Briegel
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780080538365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 478
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Book Description
An interesting volume presenting the papers collected for the Festschrift "Paradoxes in Modern Geology" in honor of Professor Ken Jinghwa Hsu on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Paradox, as defined in a dictionary, is a statement contrary to accepted opinion. That a broad discussion of paradoxes is fruitful for the advancement of science in general, and geosciences in particular, has been amply demonstrated by Professor Hsu throughout his distinguished career. Not only has he propelled the geoscience community forward with his controversial statements, a number of his former students, who are currently in key positions at universities and in industry, are influencing in a similar open minded way the present day thinking. The wide scope this reasoning encompasses is demonstrated by the contributions to this book, delineating paradoxes and problems in the fields of tectonics, basic and applied geosciences, petrology, paleoceanography, paleoclimatology and paleogeography, kinematics and modelling.
Author: Gareth Southwell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781435169968
Category : Paradox
Languages : en
Pages : 208
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Book Description
Author: John Donne
Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
A scholarly edition of works by John Donne. The edition presents an authoritative text, together with an introduction, commentary notes, and scholarly apparatus.
Author: Doris Olin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317489233
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 233
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Book Description
Paradoxes are more than just intellectual puzzles - they raise substantive philosophical issues and offer the promise of increased philosophical knowledge. In this introduction to paradox and paradoxes, Doris Olin shows how seductive paradoxes can be, why they confuse and confound, and why they continue to fascinate. Olin examines the nature of paradox, outlining a rigorous definition and providing a clear and incisive statement of what does and does not count as a resolution of a paradox. The view that a statement can be both true and false, that contradictions can be true, is seen to provide a challenge to the account of paradox resolution, and is explored. With this framework in place, the book then turns to an in-depth treatment of the Prediction Paradox, versions of the Preface/Fallibility Paradox, the Lottery Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Sorites Paradox. Each of these paradoxes is shown to have considerable philosophical punch. Olin unpacks the central arguments in a clear and systematic fashion, offers original analyses and solutions, and exposes further unsettling implications for some of our most deep-seated principles and convictions.
Author: Eugene Barsky
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0444639209
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 202
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Book Description
Gibbs' Entropic Paradox and Problems of Separation Processes reviews the so-called Gibb’s Paradox observed during the mixing of two systems. During the last 150 years, many physicists and specialists in thermodynamics, statistical and quantum mechanics been engaged in the solution of the Gibbs paradox. Many books and journal articles have written on this topic, but a widely accepted answer is still lacking. In this book, the author reviews and analyzes all this data. Based on findings, the book formulates a different approach to this paradox and substantiates it on the basis of physical and statistical principles. The book clearly shows that entropy consists of two parts, static and dynamic. Up to now, entropy has been connected only with the process dynamics. However, the Gibbs paradox is caused by the change in the static component of entropy. Finally, the book includes examples of separation processes and how to optimize them in various fields, including biology, cosmology, crystallography and the social sciences. Provides a precise definition of entropy and allows the formulation of criteria for optimization of separation processes Explains the role of entropy in many processes, facilitating an in-depth analysis and understanding of complicated systems and processes Provides solutions to scientific and applied problems in various scientific disciplines related to separation processes Elucidates entropy’s role in many separation systems
