Overview
- A stimulating collection of arguments and ideas that will fascinate physicists, philosophers, mathematicians and lay readers alike
- Includes essays specially rewarded for their entertainment and creative/out-of-the-box thinking
- Published in cooperation with the renowned physics "think-tank" Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: The Frontiers Collection (FRONTCOLL)
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Table of contents (20 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
The prize-winning essays in this book address the fascinating but sometimes uncomfortable relationship between physics and mathematics. Is mathematics merely another natural science? Or is it the result of human creativity? Does physics simply wear mathematics like a costume, or is math the lifeblood of physical reality?
The nineteen wide-ranging, highly imaginative and often entertaining essays are enhanced versions of the prize-winning entries to the FQXi essay competition “Trick or Truth”, which attracted over 200 submissions.
The Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.
Reviews
“The entries were rigorously judged and this book is a collection of the best entries. … the content is accessible to the general, albeit knowledgeable, reader. These essays are very well written. The result is a great book in the philosophy of science, the relationship between the human brain and its ability to abstract to the way the universe runs as a consequence of the values of the fundamental constants of physics.” (Charles Ashbacher, MAA Reviews, maa.org, August, 2016)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Zeeya Merali
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Trick or Truth?
Book Subtitle: The Mysterious Connection Between Physics and Mathematics
Editors: Anthony Aguirre, Brendan Foster, Zeeya Merali
Series Title: The Frontiers Collection
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27495-9
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-27494-2Published: 02 March 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-80153-7Published: 07 April 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-27495-9Published: 20 February 2016
Series ISSN: 1612-3018
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6619
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 250
Number of Illustrations: 8 b/w illustrations, 12 illustrations in colour
Topics: History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences, Mathematical Logic and Foundations