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Interesting that they included Cryptonomicon, which is arguably more about IT than mathematics, but they failed to include Stephenson's Anathem [1]: a book abou
by enasterosophes 3y ago
Interesting that they included Cryptonomicon, which is arguably more about IT than mathematics, but they failed to include Stephenson's Anathem [1]: a book about people who live in monasteries called "maths" [2], who spend their whole lives doing mathematics (including at least one scene where the monks demonstrate a basic proof to a novice), in a book which is at its core an apology for mathematical realism, and approaches Platonic metaphysics through a mathematical lens.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathem
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matha
- keeganpoppen 3y agoyeah i cant imagine a more “mathematical science fiction” book than Anathem. i thought it was brilliant, but it is definitely not for everyone haha.
- enasterosophes 3y agoMe too! I have a feeling that maybe Anathem appeals to the kind of people who themselves would be pushed into a math at a young age, like Barb. If I was on Arbre, there is no way I would have been tolerated in Sæcular society beyond my 11th birthday, and a.s. I'd be in a centenarian by now.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- sdenton4 3y agoI loved Anathem, but also have a PhD in math, and legit dream of ways to think about hard problems without bureaucracy getting in the way. (The war of the flowers was brilliant...)