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Paradoxes: What Are They Good For?

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Excursions in the History of Mathematics

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Abstract

A paradox has been described as a truth standing on its head to attract attention. Undoubtedly, paradoxes captivate. They also cajole, provoke, amuse, exasperate, and seduce. More importantly, they arouse curiosity, they stimulate, and they motivate. In this chapter we present examples of paradoxes from the history of mathematics which have inspired the clarification of basic concepts and the introduction of major results. Our examples will deal with numbers, logarithms, functions, continuity, tangents, infinite series, sets, curves, and decomposition of geometric objects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Israel Kleiner

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  1. Israel Kleiner
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Kleiner, I. (2012). Paradoxes: What Are They Good For?. In: Excursions in the History of Mathematics. Birkhäuser Boston. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-8176-8268-2_8

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