JANUARY 27, 2009
The reality of math
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Is math real? The question seems absurd: Doesn’t two and two equal four? Can’t we describe the details of the universe in precise mathematical terms? Of course math is real! But Mario Livio, a senior astrophysicist at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, isn’t so convinced.
In his fourth book, Is God a Mathematician?, Livio explores mysteries that have long perplexed theologians, philosophers, and mathematicians alike: Are mathematical concepts woven into the very fabric of the cosmos? And if they are, did a divine weaver put them there?
The answers, Livio tells us, are yes — and no. Mathematical concepts — like the golden ratio, or Euclidian geometry — are useful fictions that don’t exist in the natural world. (In other words, the circle and the square are make-believe.) But mathematicians who work within these invented languages can discover concrete truths about the nature of the universe. As for God . . . let’s just say that He’s very, very improbable.
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Is God a Mathematician? (Simon & Schuster; hardcover; 320 pages)
