The New York Times says that Raymond Smullyan is dead? I'm not sure I believe it.
If I asked CNN whether Fox News would answer "da" if asked whether Smullyan is dead, would they answer "ja"?
Raymond Smullyan has died
11–20 of 63 posts
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#12Given what I know of Smullyan, my guess is that he died very gracefully. Perhaps he was even looking forward to venturing into the great Unknown. Godspeed.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's my favorite, "Is God a Taoist?": http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/godTao...
My favorite too, and also my first encounter with his writings. Read it back in the eighties as it was one of the writings discussed in "The Mind's I". It was exactly the type of initial clarification I needed to read at the time and definitely shaped my understanding on what the term "God" might point to at a time when all the other options seemed petty and infantile to a curious and perplexed teenager. Wow. Sad to…
That's also in his book "The Tao is Silent". I picked this book off the library shelf at random, so many years ago, and couldn't stop reading the lovely, approachable writing. He helped me think through and finally rid myself of all the fundy Christian mental baggage leftover from when I was a kid.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#14I thought this said 'Richard Stallman' at first and was seriously shocked.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#15When I was an undergraduate I met Raymond at a math conference in Minnesota. We talked about logic, religion, and philosophy at the reception the first night. The next morning he sees me and runs over to me. He said, "I invented a new religion for you last night. God has a number in mind. If the sum total of all good acts minus the sum total of all bad acts exceeds this number then everyone goes to heaven. Otherwise,…
Wow this is such a wholesome thing to say. I have no idea who this guy is but I now regret never meeting him.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#16The New York Times says that Raymond Smullyan is dead? I'm not sure I believe it. If I asked CNN whether Fox News would answer "da" if asked whether Smullyan is dead, would they answer "ja"?
I don't think people get the reference. Your post was in good taste. For those who don't understand look up the hardest logic puzzle.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#17Coming across The Tao is Silent in college changed my life forever. I've subsequently recommended it to select friends who seemed like they'd benefit from it and they've reported back and told me the book has had similar effects within their life. When I introduce Smullyan to people I explain that he is basically an IRL gandalf math/spirituality wizard.
I just picked up A Spiritual Journey and Set Theory And The Continuum Problem several weeks back. Both of these books feel like they are personal, and direct mathematical and spiritual conversations that are directed towards an audience very much like myself. I told my dad (a practicing amateur number theorist) a few weeks back that the set theory book in particular made me feel like I'd found a mathematical topic (foundations of logic) that really spoke to me and even the first few chapters had clarified some confusion within the area that I'd been carrying for years.
This feels much like I felt a few weeks ago when I found myself regretting that I'd never sent Obama a letter during his presidency and would never get the chance again.
Godspeed Professor Smullyan and thank you for everything you shared with us along the journey!
PS thank you to everyone in this thread who has shared their connection to this wonderful man, it's really heartening to find some community amidst this loss.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#18Some years back, I worked in a library. Having loved one of Smullyan's books, I searched for more. One book that came up didn't have a title in the system. Puzzled, I wrote down the call number, went to the shelf, and grabbed the book. It was "This Book Needs No Title". Clearly whoever added it to the catalog was inspired by Smullyan's prankster ways.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#19The New York Times says that Raymond Smullyan is dead? I'm not sure I believe it. If I asked CNN whether Fox News would answer "da" if asked whether Smullyan is dead, would they answer "ja"?
I don't think people get the reference. Your post was in good taste. For those who don't understand look up the hardest logic puzzle.
seconded.
Re: Raymond Smullyan has died
#20His philosophy of teaching was a little puzzling. “My policy is to teach the student as much as possible and to require from him or her as little as possible,” he told Donald Albers and Gerald Alexanderson, the authors of “Mathematical People: Profiles and Interviews” in 2008.
But, he added, the impact of his apparent lenience was that many of his students worked harder in his course than in any other.
Would love to see more studies around this methodology and its impact on students. Not only an incredible professor, but an innovative teacher. Rest in peace!