rapaport@cs.Buffalo.EDU (William J. Rapaport) (09/21/88)
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
BUFFALO LOGIC COLLOQUIUM
1988-1989
First Meeting
Joint meeting with the Mathematics Colloquium
PETER WEIBEL GREGORY MOORE
Department of Media Study Department of Mathematics
SUNY Buffalo McMaster University
KURT GOEDEL: A MATHEMATICAL MYTH
(Video Presentation)
This is a documentary on the life and ideas of the famous logician Kurt
Goedel in a new electronic way. You could call it an MTV-like mathemat-
ical report. The video traces Goedel's path from Brno, Czechoslovakia,
to Vienna, Austria, to Princeton, USA. It collected all visible docu-
ments of Goedel's private life, even his speech on a record. The video
displays previously unavailable information on Goedel's life. It
includes interviews with Goedel's friends and colleagues.
The video also visualizes Goedel's discoveries and embeds them in the
mathematical culture of his time, ranging from the Vienna Circle to Tur-
ing Machines. The digital effects, normally used in music videos, are
exploited to render Goedel's abstract thoughts and concepts on a highly
complex level.
After the video, there will be critical commentary and further remarks
on Goedel's life and achievements by the historian/mathematician Gregory
Moore, who is the author of the biography of Goedel for the _Dictionary
of Scientific Biography_ and who is one of the editors of the Goedel
_Collected Works_.
Following the Collquium, there will be a Dutch treat dinner at
Wurzburger-Hof at Bailey and Dartmouth Ave.
Wednesday, September 28, 1988
4:00 P.M.
Wende 316, Main Street Campus
Wende Hall is at the south end of the Main Street Campus. It faces Main
Street and is across from the Mathematics Library. Metered visitor
parking is available in Parker Lot. For further information, contact
John Corcoran, (716) 636-2438.