The Poetry of George Boole
Published on 24. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
154 pages
978-1-716-52027-3 (ISBN)
Description
The purpose of this little book is twofold. First, and most importantly, it is to collect and preserve the seventy or so surviving poems written by the mathematician and logician George Boole (1815-1864) and to comment upon what light his poetry throws on his character and personality. Second, it is to discuss a much-neglected topic, the interaction between Science and the Arts, with particular reference to mathematics and poetry.
Poetry clearly meant a great deal to George Boole, both to read and compose. From his early teens until about 1855, he used poetry as a form of recreational activity, possibly as a form of relaxation from his more serious work in logic and mathematics. He was a competent, if not exceptional, translator and versifier, who now and then wrote lines of real poetic merit. And in the debate about reciprocal contributions by artists to the sciences, it would be difficult to find even a single established poet who made even a minor contribution to mathematics.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Morrisville
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 297 mm
Width: 210 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
419 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-716-52027-3 (9781716520273)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Des MacHale was born in Castlebar, Co.Mayo, Ireland. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mathematical Science from
University College Galway and a Ph.D. degree in Algebra from the University of Keele in the UK. He is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at University College Cork, where he taught for forty years. He is author
of over sixty published books on such diverse topics as Lateral Thinking Puzzles (with Paul Sloane), Wit, Jokes, Puzzles, George Boole,John Ford's movie The Quiet Man, and giving up smoking. Among his interests are Geology (in which he has a diploma), photography, broadcasting, book collecting, recreational mathematics, humour, family history, and puzzles of all kinds. He and his long-suffering wife Anne have five wonderful children and three even more wonderful grandchildren and live in Cork.
Logic Press (logicpress.ie) publishes books related to Mathematics, including other titles by Des MacHale, and has a Less Serious Division (logicpress.ie/LS/), which caters to the rest of life.