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IS MATHEMATICS INEVITABLE? A MISCELLANY edited by Underwood Dudley Mathematical Association of America, 2008, 335 pp. ISBN: 978-0-88385-566-9
The title of this book intrigued me but, as the editor states in his preface, "It [the title] does not, however, describe the contents of this book." Instead the book contains 26 unrelated articles from previous publications by the book's 26 authors, some of which have little to do with mathematics or its inevitability. However, the first few articles are so fascinating that they make this a compelling book. The first three articles, "Mathematics and Mathematicians" (1992) by Jean Dieudonné, "Mathematics and the Physical World" (1959) by Morris Kline, and "Mathematics in Fun and Earnest" (1959) by Nathan Altshiller Court, are the heart of the book and do relate somewhat to the title. Dieudonné's perspective is theoretical: the essence of mathematics is the proof. Kline's perspective is applied: mathematics is solving nature's problems. And Kline is steadfast in explaining how mathematicians were unfortunately sidetracked in proving the origin of mathematics in a supernatural God....