by Peter F. Erickson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2006
Not for the mathematically faint of heart, but a serious, rarefied attempt to construe reality outside the dominant paradigm.
Vigorous forays into the thickets of time and space in pursuit of absolutes.
Erickson endeavors to reestablish and refine an approach to reason “through a defense of the infinitesimal and the return of the number line.” His work relies on both the senses and intuition, operating on both finite and infinite levels, observable now and, then, conjectured: Of pi, “although we know that we cannot find it, we know that it must exist.” Infinitesimals are points of location, without area, indivisible, constant, innumerable within a finite expansion, providing continuity. Infinitesimals exist on a different level of reality than finites, requiring the use of irrational numbers to make a unit continuous. Though the infinitesimal is Erickson’s champion, irrational numbers and veritable number systems are his Virgils to explore what operates below the sheath of the finite. Time, too, has continuity, comprised of discrete instances: here, then gone forever, moving without breach and everywhere at the same pace (thus skewering parallel dimensions). The author’s explanation of motion is more mind-bending: “Motion is not between the instants, but at the instant. The whole of the change takes place at that unbroken suddenness,” while measurable speed must cross differing numbers of infinitesimals. If dense with dark matter, and occasionally allusive to a fault when introducing mathematical theories, Erickson proceeds logically from finite to actual and potential infinity, to minimum angles and division by zero, the role of the tangent in points and the foibles of sets and the mathematical limit. But in his rupture with relativism, lucidity is critical, and an irksome number of statements are not so much challenging as obliquitous; for instance, “space lies beyond all man can do” doesn’t get us any closer to understanding space as an entity “neither material, nor mental.” And when a challenged reader encounters “a finite neckless made of intersecting rings of the same size would have a continuous pattern,” one immediately suspects a ruse is at play.
Not for the mathematically faint of heart, but a serious, rarefied attempt to construe reality outside the dominant paradigm.Pub Date: June 28, 2006
ISBN: 978-1-59926-118-8
Page Count: 268
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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