Exploring Randomness by Gregory Chaitin, Springer-Verlag,
拢24.50, ISBN 1852334177
AT THE heart of pure mathematics, maintains Gregory Chaitin, is total
unadulterated randomness. This has profound implications not only for
mathematics, but for physics as well. So, who is Chaitin? Now an IBM
mathematician, he invented algorithmic information theory as a teenager and
discovered 鈥淥mega鈥�, a totally unknowable, totally random number. Not only can
there never be a theory of everything in mathematics, he concludes, but because
mathematics is the language of physics, there can never be a theory of
everything in physics either.
This is revolutionary, explosive stuff. And if you鈥檝e got the stomach for it,
you can read all about it in Exploring Randomness, the sequel to
Chaitin鈥檚 equally mind-expanding The Unknowable (Springer-Verlag,
1999).
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But be warned鈥攖his isn鈥檛 an easy read: the book is filled with
exercises to do. They range from the 鈥渕athematical equivalent of finger warm-ups
for pianists鈥� to substantial programming projects, from questions Chaitin can
formulate precisely, but not answer, to questions he cannot even formulate.
Chaitin challenges readers to follow his lead and forge their own path into
the black hole of randomness, the 鈥渄arkness at the edge of mathematics鈥�. When
Chaitin wrote 鈥渆xplore鈥�, he well and truly meant it.
An exhilarating, mind-blowing book from one of the great ideas men of
mathematics and computer science.