[Los Angeles] Jim Stein: “The Limits of Knowledge”
Note: This is a global event that appears on all event calendars.
CFI-L.A.'s FEED YOUR BRAIN Lecture Series Presents
The Limits of
Knowledge - As Explained by Math
Jim Stein
Sunday, Jan. 4 at 11 a.m.
In the first two centuries
after Newton propounded his Laws of Gravitation and Mechanics, it was implicitly
felt that it was possible, at least in theory, to know everything and accurately
predict the future by knowing the past. Three remarkable developments in the
20th century showed that there were limits to what we can know and what we can
accomplish, which Jim Stein will discuss: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
(physics), Godel's Incompleteness Theorem (mathematics), and Arrow's
Impossibility Theorem (political economics). Amazingly, all three of these
seemingly abstract mathematical theorems have a substantial impact on all of us
and our daily lives.
Jim Stein received his B.A. from Yale and his Ph.D.
from the University of California at Berkeley. he is author of How Math
Explains the World, which was selected by the Scientific American Book
Club. He is currently a professor in the Mathematics Department at California
State University, Long Beach.
$6, or free for Friends of the Center.
