Conversations with a Mathematician by Gregory Chaitin

'The book is a collection of non-technical lectures by, and interviews of, the mathematician Gregory J. One way we know our friends is by knowing their important stories… fills the gap left by Chaitin’s other works by providing a highly engaging and readable account of his explorations into randomness in the foundations of mathematics.' While there is the inevitable repetition of ideas, stories, examples, in the end that very repetition helps to leave the reader with the impression of having become acquainted with Chaitin himself. What emerges from this somewhat disparate set of transcripts is a surprising coherent picture of Chaitin and his work. '…a collection of three lectures and six interviews originally given between 19. The text written in Chaitin’s unmistakable writing style, is full if ideas, ‘bubbly like champagne’, but not light.' The author’s love of mathematics is almost ‘infectious’.

'This is not a standard, pedagogical book of mathematical popularization, but a provocative, intelligent, engaging and fun to read piece of work. Grossman in the MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGENCER 'What mathematicians over the centuries - from the ancients, through Pascal, Fermat, Bernoulli, and de Moivre, to Kolmogorov and Chaitin - have discovered, is that it ÄrandomnessÜ is a profoundly rich concept.' John Casti, author of Mathematical Mountaintops, on Godel, Turing and Chaitin in NATURE 'Finding the right formalization is a large component of the art of doing great mathematics.' Marcus Chown, author of The Magic Furnace, in NEW SCIENTIST '(Chaitin is) one of the great ideas men of mathematics and computer science.' Schwartz, Courant Institute, New York University, USA 'Chaitin has put a scratch on the rock of eternity.'

This book collects his most wide-ranging and non-technical lectures and interviews, and it will be of interest to anyone concerned with the philosophy of mathematics, with the similarities and differences between physics and mathematics, or with the creative process and mathematics as an art.

He has shown that God plays dice not only in quantum mechanics, but even in the foundations of mathematics, where Chaitin discovered mathematical facts that are true for no reason, that are true by accident.

Conversations with a Mathematician by Gregory Chaitin