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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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5-6-2009 It’s a conference — no, it’s a partyOhio State’s resident mathematical philosopher, genius celebrates a milestone
It’s being advertised to members of the American Mathematical Society and the American Philosophical Association, among others, and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation. But what makes the event truly out of the ordinary is it’s essentially a birthday party for an Ohio State professor. Harvey Friedman, Distinguished University Professor with appointments in mathematics, philosophy, computer science and engineering and music, celebrates his 60th birthday this year. “It is an extraordinary celebration of the lifetime achievements of a quite exceptional foundational and interdisciplinary thinker,” said conference organizer Neil Tennant, a professor of philosophy at Ohio State. “It is the most impressive gathering in the area of foundations since the famous conference in Koenigsberg in 1930 at which Kurt Goedel announced his celebrated incompleteness theorems during a discussion on foundations.” That celebration seems fitting for a man whom many have described as being far ahead of his time. A child prodigy, Friedman entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 15 and ran through the freshman-to-PhD course in a mere three years. In 1967, with doctoral degree in hand, he joined the faculty at Stanford University as an assistant professor three days shy of his 19th birthday. This particular achievement was noted in the Guinness Book of World Records and reported in major publications around the world, including Life magazine. Friedman shares intellectual philosophies with such thinkers as Aristotle, Archimedes and da Vinci, and in the more modern era, Bertrand Russell and John von Neumann. He claims to have a special “foundational approach to intellectual life” which allows him to cut through details and focus directly on the central issues in diverse fields. He is first and foremost renowned for his work in mathematical logic and the foundation of mathematics. On top of being the world’s leading mathematical logician — the founder of so-called “reverse mathematics” — he also is an accomplished pianist. Of special note is that Friedman, at age 60, is pioneering a new musical art form that enables him to make classical piano music CDs of high professional caliber. He has refined his classical musical sensitivities to a major professional level through his use of digital technology and is “unlocking the secrets of why music sounds good.” “Friedman is a stunning example of the ‘child genius who made good,’ by continuing to make enormous contributions, with astoundingly fertile research projects, and keeping burnout at bay,” Tennant said. “The assemblage of leading international scholars on their way to Ohio State to honor him is testimony to the level of esteem in which he is held.” For more information, see people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/tennant9/friedman_conference.html.
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