Best known for his Incompleteness Theorem, Kurt Gödel (1906–1978) is considered one of the most important mathematicians and logicians of the 20th century. By showing that the establishment of a set of axioms encompassing all of mathematics would never succeed, he revolutionized the world of mathematics, logic, and philosophy.
Janna Levin is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. Her scientific research concerns the Early Universe, Chaos, and Black Holes. Her recent book, the novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines (Knopf, 2006), won the PEN/Bingham Fellowship for Writers, which “honors an exceptionally talented fiction writer whose debut work . . . represents distinguished literary achievement.” She is also the author of the popular science book How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space.
She joins us on Culture Insight to share her insight into the life and work of Kurt Gödel.