At various points in this survey of mathematics we have found mathematicians de-
bating the meaning of what they were doing and the legitimacy of their procedures.
In this last part of our study we examine the ways in which mathematics enters
into the process of drawing conclusions. Human beings draw conclusions with dif-
fering levels of confidence, based on experience. At the one extreme are opinions
about the most complicated phenomena around us, other human beings and human
society as a whole. These matters are so complex that very few statements about
them can be simultaneously free of significant doubt and of great importance. At
the other end are matters that are so simple and obvious that we do not hesitate
to label as insane anyone who doubts them. At the very least, we do not bother
refuting a person who says that the word yes requires 10 letters to spell or that the
city of Tuscaloosa is located in Siberia. Mathematics itself lies on the "confident"
end of the spectrum, but its applications to practical life do not always share that
certainty. Chapter 18 surveys the uncertain, in the form of the history of probabil-
ity and statistics. Chapter 19 covers the more certain, in the form of the history of
logic.
coco
(coco)
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