Too much contemplation of the infinite can damage your health. Amir Aczel, in
The Mystery of the Aleph, makes this clear in what is mostly the
biography of the celebrated George Cantor, who became intermittently mad while
grappling with the rarefied mathematics of transfinite numbers. Theoretical
mathematicians will revel in this well-written, witty book and even
non-mathematicians will be carried along by a narrative with the pace of a
thriller. Published by Four Walls Eight Windows, $24.95, ISBN
156858105X.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
3
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
4
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
5
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
6
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
7
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
8
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
9
The most detailed survey of the universe ever conducted starts now
10
I have a 100 per cent chance of getting cancer due to a rare gene



