I Will Not Try

A Book Review of What is Mathematics, Really?

I’m a bookworm; a bookworm who digs sci-fi, romance, suspense, adventure, and even horror. BUT GOSH, “What is Mathematics, Really?” by Reuben Hersh brought a different kind of horror. It sent chills down my spine, and caused me to have sleepless nights. I know it sounds exaggerated. Well, the sleepless nights were true though. Fitting the 368 pages in my life was not easy. I don’t even have a love life to jumble (#medyohugot). All I want to say is reading the book was a battle; to read or not to read. It was a requirement, so I had to. And that’s the only reason why I kept going.

Hersh wrote “What is Mathematics, Really?” to answer what is Math. This book is inspired from the creations of Richard Courant and Herbert Robins, “What I Mathematics?” He was no satisfied so he searched the real meaning of mathematics. He explains it by showing how. The book was divided to two parts. First, he debunks the notions of the three mainstream philosophies of Mathematics: Platonism, Formalism, and Constructivism. He gave another alternative, the Humanism. Second, other philosophies that affects Math and how it is today.

Platonism is the idea that math is just an abstract entity. It is separated from our real world. Hersh rejects this because it violates the empiricism of modern science. How can Math be abstract when it interacts with mathematicians? Platonism explains the relation of the physical and abstract mathematics, but does not explain how. Hersh also rejects Formalism. Hersh is more serious about this. Formalism explained that Mathematics was just formed because of the workings of the society and only evolved under pressure of the inner workings and interactions of social groups, and the environment. It is governed by rules. Math is just about formulas. Hersh says Math doesn’t have rules. Intuitionism deals with the tangible. Math is obtained by finite construction. What Hersh suggest is the Humanism. It is a sociohistoric approach. Math is a human activity. One answers the question by looking at Math.

I really love reading the book. It enlightened me. It changed my life. Shut up Lou. The first part, no, almost all the parts of the book was quite boring. With unfamiliar terms and deep explanations, it made me want to drop the book and cry. It felt like the book was written in Greek. The book was hard to grasp especially for students like me who is not Math Major. You have to have you’re Google buddy to understand. I’m not saying Hersh is a pointless mathematician and philosopher. He has both backgrounds in both Math and literature. He debunked the three mainstream philosophies. All praises to him, but it’s just that I feel he didn’t backed-up his points clearly. He went broader rather than going deeper. However, his work is still thought-provoking. It will make you doubt the Math you knew since you’ve encountered it. You’ll have another perspective of what might be. We can never fully understand Mathematics. No one can. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider trying. We have to give it a shot sometime. Brilliant philosophers tried, brilliant scholars are still trying, and I will not try. Kidding.