Math is hard. Uncovering the foundations of mathematics—the basis of what makes the whole structure work—is harder. A century ago, three men attempted just that. They believed unless they could correct flaws in mathematics’ structure, the edifice that was mathematics might crumble. In other words, mathematics, what Carl Friedrich Gauss called “the queen of sciences,” would become meaningless.
The result was known as the Great Math War, or the Foundational Crisis. A decade-long struggle during the 1920s, it’s the focus of this book. “The Great Math War” looks at the three schools of thought attempting to define mathematics’ foundations.
