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Zusatztext "There is an enormous amount to admire in the book. . . . The range of topics treated is very generous." ---David Corfield, Notices Informationen zum Autor David Ruelle is professor emeritus of mathematical physics at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in France and distinguished visiting professor of mathematics at Rutgers University. His books include Chance and Chaos (Princeton). Klappentext "David Ruelle has written an entertaining and thoughtful book on human theorizing in that most abstract science! mathematics. Yet its content has ramifications that extend well into other thought processes."--Stephen Smale! Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago "Fascinating and quite eclectic. Ruelle has a pragmatic approach to discussing philosophical and psychological questions. He is equally pragmatic with regard to ethical and political issues involved in the professional world of the mathematician. As Ruelle repeatedly says! mathematics is a human activity."--William Messing! University of Minnesota Zusammenfassung British mathematician Alan Turing, credited with cracking the German Enigma code during World War II, he died in 1954 after eating a cyanide-laced apple - his death was ruled a suicide. This book reveals the author's personal reflections on Turing and other fellow mathematicians.