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The Mystery of the Aleph

Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity

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About this listen

 "An engaging, pellucid explanation of the mathematical understanding of infinity, enlivened by a historical gloss on age-old affinities..." - Washington Post Book World

Toward the end of the 19th century, one of the most brilliant mathematicians in history languished in an asylum. His greatest accomplishment, the result of a series of extraordinary leaps of insight, was his pioneering understanding of the nature of infinity.

From the acclaimed author of God's Equation comes The Mystery of the Aleph, the story of Georg Cantor: how he came to his theories and the reverberations of his pioneering work, the consequences of which will shape our world for the foreseeable future. The mindtwisting, deeply philosophical work of Cantor has its roots in ancient Greek mathematics and Jewish numerology as found in the mystical work known as the Kabbalah. Cantor's theory of the infinite is famous for its many seeming contradictions; for example, we can prove that in all time there are as many years as days, that there are as many points on a one-inch line as on a one-mile line.

While the inspiration for Cantor's mind-twisting genius lies in the very origins of mathematics, its meaning is still being interpreted. Only in 1947 did Kurt Gvdel prove that Cantor's Continuum Hypothesis is independent of the rest of mathematics - and that the foundations of mathematics itself are therefore shaky.

©2001 by Amir D. Aczel (P)2001 Random House, Inc. Education Higher & Continuing Education Professionals & Academics Science & Technology

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Critic reviews

"Mr. Aczel is very good at portraying the essences of the thoughts and lives of that quirky class of geniuses known as mathematicians." ( New York Times Book Review)
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Mystery of the Aleph to be better than the print version?

I reserved the print version from my local library as an intra-library reserve, and waited and waited ... and eventually gave up. I never ever lost the desire to read this book and the print price meant that I continued to wait and then came along this audio book. I know that this was definitely more digestible than the book would have been as I found that the agreeable tone of the narrator allowed me to imaginatively think more intensely about what was being read than if I was reading myself

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mystery of the Aleph?

the connection of the infinite that the author makes to Jewish mysticism, the Kabbalah, and the contemplations on the Divine and the toll it can have on the participant. I could see the parallels with Sufism and it also linked in with the devastating effect that the Continuum Hypothesis appeared to have, or at least served as a catalyst, in the lives of both Cantor and Godel

Have you listened to any of Henry Leyva’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No but if I find other books that I am interested in, narrated by this reader, then that would be a definite plus

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I really felt that I shared the journey of both Cantor and Godel, and found myself quite angry at Leopold Kronecker and to a lesser extent Bertrand Russell. The first for his vendetta against Cantor and the second for his unkind comments.

Any additional comments?

I've watched a television documentary on the life of Cantor and have a book that covers Cantor in that it is on the Philisophy of sets, but on the core interest of Cantor and the Continuum Hypothesis , this audiobook easily eclipses the other sources. I did find particularly relevant the weaving in by the author of the influence of Jewish mysticism in the formation of Cantor's attempt to grasp the infinite, the Divine.

A stunning history of the Continuum Hypothesis

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This book is interesting and easy to understand for anyone interested in the infinite. It follows the lives of those who contemplated it and their progress towards a better understanding of the infinite, and the struggle with sanity that seems to accompany the quest. Captivating from the beginning to the end. Some nice hints of humour while making the maths so easily accessible. Great for anyone with an interest but not looking for detailed proofs of theorems; the concepts are laid out very well.

Great biography of the story of infinity.

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I approached an audible book on a mathematical topic with some trepidation as I am quite a visual person and would miss any equations, graphs, diagrams etc. The nature of this book was an exploration of the infinite from earliest times through to the work of the 20th century, with a particular focus on Cantor. The experience of an audible book was good. The book was split into sections that made for easier places to stop and pick up at a later date. The content was good, but I did miss any diagrams - which at times would have made the experience even better.
As an English speaker, the American accept was a little grating at times, but I kept my listening sessions to roughly 60 minutes per session.
The content was good, and it was good to generally stick with a chronological narrative. The audio quality was very good, and suited to the spekaer's voice.

My first audible book

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very rewarding. I found myself wanting to bounce at people and go 'do you realise that the set of numbers between 0 and 1 is infinite and so is the set of numbers between 0 and 2 and that therefore they are the same size?!' Unfortunately, the mathematicians I know go, 'well, yess. Obviously. What's your point?' and everyone else looks at me as if I've gone mad...

Hard but...

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great biographic of the concept of infinity and the characters that dared to touch it.

Infinitely good

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