This week I am presenting two highly interesting, provocative readings. The first is about two books that explore whether mathematics is a human invention or a cosmic—and possibly divine—order that humankind has simply discovered; the second, an essay on how organized religion is using modern technology to spread its beliefs.
The two books are the recently released
Is God a Mathematician? (January 2009) and the earlier
The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World’s Most Astonishing Number ( 2003), both written by Mario Livio, senior astrophysicist and the Head of the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Golden Ratio, a highly acclaimed book about mathematics and art, won for Livio the International Pythagoras Prize and the Peano Prize, both awarded for the best popular book in mathematics. Livio followed up his award-winning book with
Is God a Mathematician?, where he ponders the remarkable number of magical patterns, coincidences, and constants in mathematics like this provocative enigma: 365—the number of days in a year—is equal to 10 times 10, plus 11 times 11, plus 12 times 12. He then explains such patterns through the work of such great mathematical and scientific minds as Pythagoras and Plato in ancient times to Isaac Newton in the Age of Enlightenment all the way to Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein in modern times.
Read an Excerpt: Chapter 1 of Is God A Mathematician? by Mario LivioRead Leonard Cassuto's review of Mario Livio's Is God a Mathematician?Read an excerpt from Mario Livio’s The Golden Ratio Read Mario Livio's essay “Unreasonable Effectiveness” in +Plus MagazineA fitting counterpoint to Mario Livio’s books is Stefany Anne Golberg’s essay, “
Deus ex Machina: On the long relationship between religion and technology,” that came out in the June 22, 2009 issue of
The Smart Set. Golberg discusses the current efforts of organized religion, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian evangelicals, to harness modern telecommunications and the web for bearing witness to their faith. As she quotes Benedict XVI exhorting the faithful, “Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God’s infinite love for all people will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!”
Read Stefany Anne Golberg’s “Deus ex Machina” in Slate now
