The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel
Language: English
Published by Oxford University Press Inc, US, 2008
- Hardcover
- New
Seller: Rarewaves.com USA, London, London, United KingdomRarewaves.com USA
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
Condition: New
£ 43.20
Quantity: Over 20 available
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The Library of Babel is arguably Jorge Luis Borges' best known story-memorialized along with Borges on an Argentine postage stamp. Now, in The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel, William Goldbloom Bloch takes readers on a fascinating tour of the mathematical ideas hidden within one of the classic works of modern literature.Written in the vein of Douglas R. Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize-winning Gödel, Escher, Bach, this original and imaginative book sheds light on one of Borges' most complex, richly layered works. Bloch begins each chapter with a mathematical idea-combinatorics, topology, geometry, information theory-followed by examples and illustrations that put flesh on the theoretical bones. In this way, he provides many fascinating insights into Borges' Library. He explains, for instance, a straightforward way to calculate how many books are in the Library-an easily notated but literally unimaginable number-and also shows that, if each book were the size of a grain of sand, the entire universe could only hold a fraction of the books in the Library. Indeed, if each book were the size of a proton, our universe would still not be big enough to hold anywhere near all the books.Given Borges' well-known affection for mathematics, this exploration of the story through the eyes of a humanistic mathematician makes a unique and important contribution to the body of Borgesian criticism. Bloch not only illuminates one of the great short stories of modern literature but also exposes the reader-including those more inclined to the literary world-to many intriguing and entrancing mathematical ideas.…
Seller Inventory # LU-9780195334579
- Title
- The Unimaginable Mathematics of Borges' Library of Babel
- Author
- W. L. Bloch
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press Inc, US
- Publication year
- 2008
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Hardback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0195334574
- ISBN 13
- 9780195334579
- Item weight
- 386 grams
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Rarewaves.com USA
London, London, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
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