Satan, Cantor & Infinity: Mind-Boggling Puzzles - Paperback

by Raymond M. Smullyan (Author)

A clear-headed command of logic can make the mind powerful enough to outmaneuver the devil himself, according to these intriguing stories. More than 200 puzzles, problems, and paradoxes await within these pages, woven together by a wizard's captivating narrative. The Sorcerer -- so skilled in the art of logic that his reasoning seems like magic -- takes a puzzle-based perspective on the principles underlying the works of mathematician Georg Cantor. His fascinating riddles involve probability, certainty, time, and infinity, and they unfold amid a landscape populated by honorable knights, lying knaves, quick-witted robots, and other fanciful characters.
Amusing and enlightening, the Sorcerer's guided tour of infinity is geared toward the most dedicated puzzle-solvers. Although many of the solutions require only common sense, equations appear in several of the stories, and a familiarity with algebra is essential. The author of several imaginative books on recreational mathematics, Raymond Smullyan is a well-known mathematician and logician. He provides solutions within text, rather than at the end or in footnotes, offering readers a natural progression on a puzzle-filled path through the wonders of logic.

Author Biography

Raymond Smullyan received his PhD from Princeton University and taught at Dartmouth, Princeton, Indiana University, and New York's Lehman College. Best known for his mathematical and creative logic puzzles and games, he was also a concert pianist and a magician. He wrote over a dozen books of logic puzzles and texts on mathematical logic. Raymond Smullyan: The Merry Prankster
Raymond Smullyan (1919-2017), mathematician, logician, magician, creator of extraordinary puzzles, philosopher, pianist, and man of many parts. The first Dover book by Raymond Smullyan was First-Order Logic (1995). Recent years have brought a number of his magical books of logic and math puzzles: The Lady or the Tiger (2009); Satan, Cantor and Infinity (2009); an original, never-before-published collection, King Arthur in Search of His Dog and Other Curious Puzzles (2010); and Set Theory and the Continuum Problem (with Melvin Fitting, also reprinted by Dover in 2010). More will be coming in subsequent years.

In the Author's Own Words:
"Recently, someone asked me if I believed in astrology. He seemed somewhat puzzled when I explained that the reason I don't is that I'm a Gemini."

"Some people are always critical of vague statements. I tend rather to be critical of precise statements: they are the only ones which can correctly be labeled 'wrong.'" -- Raymond Smullyan