The Mathematical Experience
by Philip J. Davis, Reuben Hersh, Elena Anne Marchisotto · first published 1980
71% recommend29% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Easy-to-read essays on the philosophy, history and practice of mathematics, weighing Platonism against other views and covering topics like infinity and proof. Suits anyone curious how mathematicians think.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2020–2023Common Sense Mathematics
Ethan D. Bolker, Maura B. Mast
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2010–2024A concise history of mathematics
Dirk Jan Struik
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2008–2023Number theory
George E. Andrews
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
2011–2023The Cauchy-Schwarz Master Class
J. Michael Steele
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2018–2024What is mathematics, really?
Reuben Hersh
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
2008–2026Journey Through Genius
William Dunham
Recommended by 25 · mentioned by 2725 recommend · 27 mention25 recommend · 2725 recommend
2020–2025A cultural history of physics
Károly Simonyi
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
…is Hilbert! by Constance Reid. It is a biography of David Hilbert, and does a surprisingly good job of describing the fundamental epistemological issues that lead him to Formalism. The other is The Mathematical Experience by Davis and Hersch.
on “Are real numbers really real?” ↗…Mathematician's Delight Courant and Robbins, What is Mathematics? Hogben, Mathematics for the Million Steinhaus, Mathematical Snapshots Ivars Peterson, The Mathematical Tourist Davis and Hersh, The Mathematical Experience Polya, How to Solve It Huff, How to Lie With Statistics McGervey, Probabilities in Everyday Life Raymond Smullyan: The Lady or the Tiger, Alice in Puzzle-Land, others Anything by Martin Gardner.…
on “Ask HN: Good books on mathematics for somebody who's only taken high school math?” ↗The best description of math that I have ever encountered of what math is is the book The Mathematical Experience by Davis and Hersch. Don't be scared by the fact that it is a book. It is very accessible since it is divided into little articles on different areas of math. A lay person can read it and gain a sense…
on “What is math?” ↗…biography. This biography shows the evolution of his science as well as evolution of his person and thoughts. Great book. Background in Physics will be very helpful if you want to read this one. - The Mathematical Experience David, Hersh is a very succinct and pleasant book on the history of Maths. Will recommend. - Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges is a good mathematician's biography. I have not finished it, but…
on “Ask HN: Any recommendation for a good History of Science book?” ↗…bargainer who is looking to improve. A few years back I read The Prince by Machiavelli. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. For general interest for anyone who likes math I strongly recommend The Mathematical Experience by Davis and Hersch. My summary of it is that Godel, Escher, Bach is the book that non-mathematicians have on their coffee table book, while The Mathematical Experience is the one that mathematicians…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗"The Mathematical Experience" goes into this in pretty good depth. http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Experience-Phillip-J-Davi...
on “Terence Tao: Evidence for mathematical conjectures short of proof” ↗Upvoted for bringing up The Mathematical Experience in a relevant way. If I could get everyone to read just one book about mathematics, that book would be The Mathematical Experience. More than any other book, it gives the actual experience of what mathematics…
on “Terence Tao: Evidence for mathematical conjectures short of proof” ↗The book that you want to read is The Mathematical Experience. Trust me on this. There is no book that I know which is as good at conveying the feeling or breadth of doing mathematics, with real examples, at a level that is both largely accessible to high school…
on “The Paradox of the Proof” ↗From Davis and Hersh's excellent book "The Mathematical Experience": Professor John Wermer tells the story of how, when he was an undergraduate, he took a course in projective geometry from Oscar Zariski, one of the foremost figures in the field of algebraic geometry.…
on “How often does it happen that the oldest person alive dies?” ↗Have you read The Mathematical Experience? Some of its essays address Fourier specifically and what it meant for math. The whole book is fascinating, even if you think you know the material.
on “Dijkstra: “You will be treated as grown-ups”” ↗…:] I am not sure if any of the following books were recommendation already: - Carl B. Boyer - A History of Mathematics - William Dunham - Journey Through Genius - Philip J. Davi & Reuben Hersh - The Mathematical Experience - Martin Aigner & Günter M. Ziegler - Proofs from the Book - Imre Lakatos - Proofs and Refutations - Robert M. Young - Excursions in Calculus: An Interplay of the Continuous and the Discrete - Courant…
on “Ask HN: How or where to begin learning mathematics from first principles?” ↗…convince other mathematicians, then it's not a a proof. Or it might convince other mathematicians and later turn out to be wrong after all. For more on the practical aspects of math, I highly recommend The Mathematical Experience. https://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Experience-Phillip-J-Dav... I read it in German: https://www.amazon.com/Erfahrung-Mathematik-German-P-J-Davis...
on “Computer proof ‘blows up’ centuries-old fluid equations” ↗…Dunham (check out: Journey through Genius: a survey of historically important math proofs that does not require too much background) The book that got me to return to mathematics after college was the Mathematical Experience by Reuben Hersh and Phillip J. Davis. There's also been some fantastic NOVA documentaries (my own favorites are "The Proof" about Andrew Wiles and the "Trillion Dollar Bet" about the mathematics of finance.)…
on “I suck at math, please divulge resources” ↗…Precalculus textbook I have used is Swokowski's "Algebra and Trigonometry with Analytic Geometry" which is clear, concise, and has lots of problems. If you want to learn ABOUT math, Davis and Hersch's "The Mathematical Experience" is a fairly easy read about philosophy of math, how it is used, and a bit about studying math. Eric Temple Bell's "Mathematics: Queen and Servant of Science" is a bit dated but an excellent history…
on “Ask HN: Best Mathematics book for complete noobie?” ↗…poster's problem. I have a very general idea of what most of them are about. If you want to learn a bit ABOUT math it really isn't that hard, there are lots of good books, I suggest Davis and Hersh's "The Mathematical Experience" and Eric T Bell's "Mathematics: Queen and Servant of Science" to start. The problem with the Web is that most pieces are too short (for good reason, given the constraints) or too technical for basic…
on “List of mathematics-related blogs by academics” ↗