Mathesophy: Two into One

                What would you do if the person you love suddenly goes away for good? Would you still have the courage to finish what you have started? Or will you start over and change the course of your path?

            When Ravi Kapoor’s grandfather, Bauji, suddenly died without prior notice, Ravi’s world was crumbled into pieces. His love for mathematics that was established by Bauji began to inflict sadness rather than happiness.   Following his father’s intuitions, Ravi took a major course in economics during college. However, things changed when he enrolled extra units in mathematics and met Nico, his professor.

            Nico’s class was about the infinities of mathematics. The first class discussion dwelt on the paradoxes of Zeno. Cantor’s theory on transfinite cardinals, the axioms of set theory, and the Continuum hypothesis were also explored. As the lectures passed by, Ravi found himself falling in love with mathematics the second time around. However, a big revelation was unearthed when he was reading a paper that was given to him by their professor. He discovered that this grandfather, the author of the paper, had written it while he was doing his time in the New Jersey Jail.

Shocked by this discovery, Ravi piece by piece recollected about his grandfather’s past. In the town of Morisette, New Jersey, Ravi’s Bauji was put into prison for violating the Blasphemy Law. During the conversations between the judge and Bauji, matters of faith, truth and certainty were heavily discussed. The concepts on Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry were tackled, and a heated deliberation on mathematics and religion took place. Reading the chapter three of this book surely made gave me a hard time. Different concepts supporting the non-existence of God were really alarming. I advise those who have fresh and young faith to not yet read this book.

            The Euclidean geometry tackled five postulates which had given rise to the concept of the Elements. The first postulate states that it is always applicable to draw a straight line between any two points.  Secondly, forming a finite straight line from a straight line is also always possible. The third postulate shows that a circle with a center and a radius can always be defined, and that no two right triangles are dissimilar. Lastly, “if a straight line falling on two straight lines makes the interior angles on the same side less than two right angles, the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that side on which are the angles less than the two right angles.” It is with the fifth postulate that the non-Euclidean geometry was born. Godel’s Incompleteness and Paul Cohen’s Consistency theorem were some of the non-Euclidean geometry concepts that had been reviewed in the book. The book ends with marriage of Ravi to his two trophies: mathematics and Claire. The mysteries of mathematics are what led him to where he is now.

            Upon reading the introductory story of the book, I actually found myself having a genuine interest on it. I like how Ravi first got hooked on mathematics, and the way Bauji had introduced math to him. However, the third chapter of the book which focused on the arguments against God’s existence had really put me down. But as the story progressed, the conversation between Bauji and Judge Taylor in the prison finally became more comprehensible and more meaningful. “We are free to chart our course, free to pursue our passions, and free to create the axioms of our lives. And it is in this glorious freedom that I find grace. This freedom, then, is my proof of His existence.” These words of Bauji really touched my heart and restored my interest on the book.

            Overall, the authors had made a masterpiece. This book had told the story of mathematics in a dramatic ad remarkable way.  The words encrypted within will make the reader fall in love with the mysteries of mathematics. Moreover, as a fan of philosophy, encountering the lines of this story made me realize that mathematics is a great approach in addressing the uncertainties and truths about life. Hence the title Mathesophy: mathematics and philosophy into one. And most importantly, I now finally see that mathematics does not complicate life. In fact, it simplifies and gives more sense to life.