Bridges to Infinity: The Human Side of Mathematics

Bridges to Infinity is a riveting journey behind the equation-filled blackboard barrier of mathematics. Michael Guillen lures the reader to a hidden dimension of mathematical thought and discovery, where new ways of thinking about space, time, and reality will change one’s understanding of everyday events.  In this dimension, mathematicians are “artists of the imagination,” whose triumphs and setbacks are revealed in these essays, each of which explains important mathematical concepts, such as probability and statistics, set theory, paradoxes, symmetries, game theory, randomness, and irrational numbers.

“Guillen succeeds triumphantly…..He writes with extraordinary grace and clarity.” – Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

“A brisk, provocative, and joyful survey of mathematical thought.” – The Wall Street Journal

“Michael Guillen has one of those rare Lewis Thomas minds – the ability to make the abstruse absorbing, even engaging, even poetic….” – Los Angeles Times

“These seventeen essays describe a world filled with poetry, imagination, and common sense, as well as with formulas and logic. Guillen, while sounding pleasantly conversational, sneaks across a wealth of information about complex theories.” – ALA Booklist

“Startling glimpses….sparkling mini-essays….” – Martin Gardner, Washington Post

“Even the most resistant mind cannot fail to be charmed and edified.”
– Publishers Weekly