Background
Hersh, Reuben was born on December 9, 1927 in New York City. Son of Philip and Mildred (Shluger) Hersh.
Hersh, Reuben was born on December 9, 1927 in New York City. Son of Philip and Mildred (Shluger) Hersh.
Bachelor, Harvard University, 1946; Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy, New York University, 1962.
This work challenges and complements mainstream philosophy of mathematics. ("Hersh" is his professional or "pen" name His family name is Reuben Laznovsky) After receiving a B.A. in English literature from Harvard University in 1946, Hersh spent a decade writing for Scientific American and working as a machinist. After losing his right thumb when working with a band saw he decided to study mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
He has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico since 1964, where he is now professor emeritus. Hersh has written a number of technical articles on partial differential equations, probability, random evolutions, and linear operator equations. He is the (co)author of four articles in Scientific American, and 12 articles in the Mathematical Intelligencer.
He holds that mathematics is real, and its reality is social-cultural-historical, located in the shared thoughts of those who learn it, teach it, and create it. His article "The Kingdom of Math is Within You" (a chapter in his "Experiencing Mathematics, 2014) explains how mathematicians' proofs compel agreement, even when they are inadequate as formal logic. He sympathizes with the perspectives on mathematics of Imre Lakatos and Where Mathematics Comes From, George Lakoff and Rafael Nunez, Basic.
( Winner of the 1983 National Book Award! "…a perfectly ...)
( "A passionate plea against the use of formal mathematic...)
(This guide is designed as a teaching tool, aimed at both ...)
Hersh advocates what he calls a "humanist" philosophy of mathematics, opposed to both Platonism (so-called "realism") and its rivals nominalism/fictionalism/formalism.
With United States Army, 1946-1947, Korea. Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science. Member Mathematics Association American (Chauvenet prize 1974), American Mathematics Society, Amnesty International.
Married Phyllis Falchook, February 13, 1949 (divorced). Children: Daniel, Eva.