Everything and More: A Compact History of [Infinity].DAVID FOSTER WALLACE David Foster Wallace (born February 21 1962) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Biography Wallace was born in Ithaca, New York to James Donald Wallace and Sally Foster Wallace. James Wallace had recently finished his Ph.D. Wallace is best known for his works of fiction, including Infinite Jest, but his interest in math and formal systems led him to tackle the confounding yet compelling story of infinity. His tone is different from that of most books with scientific themes. While Wallace appreciates his subject, he is somewhat puckish puck·ish adj. Mischievous; impish: a puckish grin; puckish wit. puck  ish·ly adv. in recounting the accomplishments of
Georg Cantor and other mathematicians who were pivotal in defining the
inherently indefinable. He likens infinity to a tree with its roots in
the ancient Greek "paradoxes of continuity and incommensurability in·com·men·su·ra·ble adj. 1. a. Impossible to measure or compare. b. Lacking a common quality on which to make a comparison. 2. Mathematics a. and its branches entwined in the modern crises over math's foundations." From these roots From These Roots was an American soap opera which ran from 1958 to 1961. It was created and written by Frank Provo and John Pickard. The show was seen on NBC, and was the first successful soap opera vehicle for Ann Flood who would later become well-known for, and spend the better , he tracks his subject's history and makes this arcane topic accessible. Most technical data are segregated in footnotes. Even these sections are rife with evidence of Wallace's wit. Norton, 2003, 319 p., hardcover, $23.95. |
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