Kurt Gödel - Brewer, William D.

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Résumé :
During his lifetime, Kurt G?del was not well known outside the professional world of mathematicians, philosophers and theoretical physicists. Early in his career, for his doctoral thesis and then for his Habilitation (Dr.Sci.), he wrote earthshaking articles on the completeness and provability of mathematical-logical systems, upsetting the hypotheses of the most famous mathematicians/philosophers of the time. He later delved into theoretical physics, finding a unique solution to Einstein's equations for gravity, the 'G?del Universe', and made contributions to philosophy, the guiding theme of his life. This book includes more details about the context of G?del's life than are found in earlier biographies, while avoiding an elaborate treatment of his mathematical/scientific/philosophical works, which have been described in great detail in other books. In this way, it makes him and his times more accessible to general readers, and will allow them to appreciate the lasting effects of G?del's contributions (the latter in a more up-to-date context than in previous biographies, many of which were written 15-25 years ago). His work spans or is relevant to a wide spectrum of intellectual endeavor, and this is emphasized in the book, with recent examples. This biography also examines possible sources of his unusual personality, which combined mathematical genius with an almost childlike naivet? concerning everyday life, and striking scientific innovations with timidity and hesitancy in practical matters. How he nevertheless had a long and successful career, inspiring many younger scholars along the way, with the help of his loyal wife Adele and some of his friends, is a fascinating story in human nature....

Biographie:
William D. Brewer wurde 1943 in den USA geboren. Er studierte Chemie und Mathematik an der Universit?t von Oregon (Eugene) und der Universit?t von Kalifornien (Berkeley). Postdoc-Arbeiten in Physik an der Freien Universit?t Berlin und in Orsay, Frankreich. Habilitation in Experimentalphysik an der FU Berlin, sp?ter Universit?tsprofessor dort. Forschung in der Kern- und Festk?rperphysik, Magnetismus an Oberfl?chen und in d?nnen Schichten. Gastwissenschaftler in Paris-Sud, IBM Yorktown Heights, Stanford, CRTBT Grenoble, KU Leuven, Univ. S?o Paulo, CBPF - Rio de Janeiro. ?bersetzungen von ?ber 20 wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten (Deutsch-Englisch), Arbeit f?r das Einstein Papers Project. Mitautor des Buchs Jayme Tiomno - Ein Leben f?r die Wissenschaft, ein Leben f?r Brasilien in der Reihe Springer Biographies (2020), Autor einer neuen Biographie von Kurt G?del, ver?ffentlicht 2022 in Englisch und 2023 in Deutsch....

Sommaire:
William D. Brewer was born 1943 in the USA. Educated in Chemistry and Mathematics at Univ. Oregon (Eugene) and Univ. California (Berkeley). Postdoctoral work in physics at the Freie Universit?t Berlin and in Orsay, France. Habilitation in experimental physics at the FU Berlin, later University Professor there. Research in nuclear and solid-state physics, magnetism on surfaces and in thin films. Visiting scientist at Paris-Sud, IBM Yorktown Heights, Stanford, CRTBT Grenoble, KU Leuven, Univ. S?o Paulo, CBPF - Rio de Janeiro. Translations of over 20 scientific works (German to English), work for the Einstein Papers Project. Co-author of the book Jayme Tiomno - A Life for Science, a Life for Brazil in the Springer Biographies series (2020). ...