Book Review: Is God a Mathematician?

No, this book isn’t about religion. It’s about whether man discovers universal truths or makes them up.

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute. He has more brains in his pinky than I have in my entire body…ok, the comparison isn’t completely fluid. Let’s just say Livio has forgotten more about math that my favorite math teacher ever knew. But that doesn’t mean Is God a Mathematician? (Simon & Schuster, 2009) isn’t worth the read. In fact, it’s a fascinating history.

At the core of Livio’s book is an attempt to explain the struggle between two points of view. Is math how God organizes the world, or is it a human tool to understand our world? Unfortunately, Livo doesn’t really answer that question. He thoroughly explains both sides. And while that may leave some readers feeling empty, Washington Post columnist Marc Kaufman rightly says, “Sometimes the adventure, the intellectual ride, is more important than the final destination.”

Is God a Mathematician isn’t light reading, but it is quite accessible to high school seniors.

Here are other articles I have written on this topic:

• Book Review: Lean Six Sigma for Service
• Three Books You Must Read Before Entering Politics
• Chinese Lament a Lack of People Learning Mandarin
• Book Review: The New Rules of Marketing and PR
• Book Review: Diplomacy
• 2009 Book Lover’s Challenge