From time immemorial, thought experiments have been employed as a platform from which to springboard towards seminal discoveries and thought provoking concepts. Thought experiments have distinguished themselves in a multitude of disciplines ranging from Physics, to Humanities and from Law to Mathematics. Prima facie appearing to be either extremely trivial or incredibly complex, these thought experiments are a monumental tribute to the spontaneous epiphanies of great philosophers, capable scientists and genius Mathematicians, amongst others.
In “The Infinite Tortoise” (the title in itself being a thought experiment formulated by the pre-Socratic Greek Philosopher, Xeno to signify a race between a tortoise and the fabled hero Achilles), Joel Levy sets out a collection of thought experiments shaping the collective thinking of mankind. These famous experiments are described in a simple, easy and understandable fashion although some of the more obstinate ones such as Schroedinger’s Cat and Descartes’s demon tax the intellect a bit more than what would be desirable!
On the whole the Infinite Tortoise makes for an engrossing read and piques a great deal of curiosity
