Reuben Hersh
Encyclopedia
Reuben Hersh is an American
mathematician
and academic, best known for his writings on the nature, practice, and social impact of mathematics. This work challenges and complements mainstream philosophy of mathematics
.
After receiving a B.A. in English literature
from Harvard University
in 1946, Hersh spent a decade writing for Scientific American
and working as a machinist. In 1962, he was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from New York University
; his advisor was P.D. Lax
. He has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico
since 1964, where he is now professor emeritus.
Hersh has written a number of technical articles on partial differential equation
s, probability
, random evolutions, and linear operator equations. He is the (co)author of four articles in Scientific American
, and 12 articles in the Mathematical Intelligencer
.
Hersh is best known as the coauthor (with Philip J. Davis
) of The Mathematical Experience
, which won the National Book Award
in 1983. He also sympathizes with the perspectives on mathematics of Imre Lakatos
and Where Mathematics Comes From
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and academic, best known for his writings on the nature, practice, and social impact of mathematics. This work challenges and complements mainstream philosophy of mathematics
Philosophy of mathematics
The philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the philosophical assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. The aim of the philosophy of mathematics is to provide an account of the nature and methodology of mathematics and to understand the place of...
.
After receiving a B.A. in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1946, Hersh spent a decade writing for Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
and working as a machinist. In 1962, he was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
; his advisor was P.D. Lax
Peter Lax
Peter David Lax is a mathematician working in the areas of pure and applied mathematics. He has made important contributions to integrable systems, fluid dynamics and shock waves, solitonic physics, hyperbolic conservation laws, and mathematical and scientific computing, among other fields...
. He has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
since 1964, where he is now professor emeritus.
Hersh has written a number of technical articles on partial differential equation
Partial differential equation
In mathematics, partial differential equations are a type of differential equation, i.e., a relation involving an unknown function of several independent variables and their partial derivatives with respect to those variables...
s, probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
, random evolutions, and linear operator equations. He is the (co)author of four articles in Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, and 12 articles in the Mathematical Intelligencer
Mathematical Intelligencer
The Mathematical Intelligencer is a mathematical journal published by Springer Verlag that aims at a conversational and scholarly tone, rather than the technical and specialist tone more common amongst such journals.-Mathematical Conversations:...
.
Hersh is best known as the coauthor (with Philip J. Davis
Philip J. Davis
Philip J. Davis is an American applied mathematician.Davis was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is known for his work in numerical analysis and approximation theory, as well as his investigations in the history and philosophy of mathematics...
) of The Mathematical Experience
The Mathematical Experience
The Mathematical Experience is a 1981 book by Philip J. Davis and Reuben Hersh that discusses the practice of modern mathematics from a historical and philosophical perspective...
, which won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in 1983. He also sympathizes with the perspectives on mathematics of Imre Lakatos
Imre Lakatos
Imre Lakatos was a Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science, known for his thesis of the fallibility of mathematics and its 'methodology of proofs and refutations' in its pre-axiomatic stages of development, and also for introducing the concept of the 'research programme' in his...
and Where Mathematics Comes From
Where Mathematics Comes From
Where Mathematics Comes From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being is a book by George Lakoff, a cognitive linguist, and Rafael E. Núñez, a psychologist...
.
Books by Hersh
- 1999 (1981) (with Philip Davis). The Mathematical Experience. Mariner Books.
- 2005 (1986) (with Philip Davis). Descartes' Dream: The World According to Mathematics. Dover.
- 1997. What Is Mathematics, Really? Oxford Univ. Press.
- 2006 (edited). 18 Unconventional Essays on the Nature of Mathematics. Springer Verlag.
- 2009 (with Vera John-Steiner). Loving and Hating Mathematics.Princeton University Press
External links
- Web page at the Univ. of New Mexico.