Making science accessible and fun for everyone should be the job of a true science communicator, but making mathematics, mathematical logic, and science in all its forms exciting through light and fun language is the stuff of some. Picnic Bergorgio Odifridiwho, with his naturalness and irony, can tell us the very thin line that, in his opinion, unites and does not separate science from humanity and faith.
The famous Italian mathematician and writer in Salento for a series of appointments, in addition to being a teacher of mathematics, conducted research in the field of Recursion theoryHe is also an essayist and historian of science, very active in scholarly publishing.
There today disclosure He is very popular, has his own audience, and the famous should always follow his own path according to his personality, avoiding being trivial or copying – as Odifreddi says – there are shining examples in this field, one of which is like Martin Gardner For years he had a column in an American monthly magazine and was able to make mathematics known to half the world, he was also engaged in the field of rationalism in general, i.e. the idea that mathematics is not just a language of science but, a way of thinking that can be used to dismantle superstitions, he was actually using it for witches and the paranormal ».
Science, Art and Faith: In Dialogue for Peace
Among the commitments that will see Odifreddi champion there, within the cultural program of Fokara 2023 in NovoliInteresting conference Science, Art and Faith: In Dialogue for Peacewho will face him in the face of the fiddler Alexander IV And with his emotional father Antonio Curto.
“In general, when one thinks of science and art or science and faith, one automatically speaks of opposition, and one thinks of two wars more than of peace. Oftentimes, these relationships are armed or aggressive. Instead, we would like to show through discussion that we can, in fact, agree: Science and humanity can be complementary to each otherThey are two sides of the same coin, which is culture. In case Science and faith It is more complicated, but even then you can find it if you like.
Both books are written with the Pope
Indeed, as proof of this, Piergiorgio Odifreddi published with Benedict XVI Two books with a double signature.Dear Pope theologian, dear atheist mathematician. Dialogue between faith and reason“for 2013 and later”On the way to find the truth. Letters and Conversations with Benedict XVIfor the year 2022.
Compare the twoTwo opposite views of the world», through dialogues, meetings, and the exchange of various messages. «I had written my first book on the subject to which I had addressed it, but I did not think he would ever read it. Then when I learned of his resignation, I thought he might have had more time to read and sent it to him and shortly thereafter received a 12-page letter from which appeared the new edition of the double-titled book.
A philosopher and theologian in conversation with a mathematician
Their relationship was definitely a one-on-one. An atheist on the one hand and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the other. A philosopher and theologian in conversation with a mathematician. The idea of going back in his mind to what he did fifty years ago. I think it was his relief to be able to talk about something other than the aspects of life in Korea, for which he was targeted. I often say, when one stays in the Vatican, even an atheist can give comfort – Odifreddi jokes – our atheist has always been A real confrontation in which no one hides his positions. I have never denied my doubts about the existence of Jesus, nor about the veracity of the facts written in the Bible. However, for him, as he told Father Lombardi, I was not an atheist like the others. I was different.”
Immortal Infatuation with sports Instead it will be the topic that Prof. Odifreddi will address in magistralis’s lecture Palmieri High School Lychee. The writer has always been committed to showing how mathematics can be applied not only in scientific disciplines, but also in literature, painting, music, and games. In his last bookMath pills. Numbers between humanity and scienceThe mathematician explores broad areas of human and scientific culture to rediscover the mathematical thought that underpins them, finding out how to identify and apply it in order to represent a defense against irrationality and, in particular, against scientific illiteracy.
“fact that Science speaks the language of mathematics from Galileo onwards It is understandable and not surprising, perhaps that is why people turn away from science, – smiles. The amazing thing is that even humanity often speaks the language of mathematics. In the last book I wrote, it is noted that many humanists are scientifically trained: Dostoevsky was an engineer, Quasimodo was a surveyor, Montale an accountant, It almost seems that anyone who wants to win a Nobel Prize should attend a technical institute. And again, the connections between mathematics and music go way back pythagoras, Between mathematics and philosophy in the mathematical way Descartesin the last 200 pages of Tostoij’s War and Peace There’s a whole mathematical theory of history complete with integrals and differential calculus – Professor Odifreddi concludes – but where is all this separation? He just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
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