“There are these phenomenally interesting ideas about the infinite that most people who are studying math never see at all,” Schumacher said. Professor of Mathematics Carol Schumacher P ’13’14, who has read many of Green’s books alongside her children, developed the course two decades ago. Many similar questions are raised in the course “ Surprises at Infinity,” offered by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Green, who majored in religious studies at Kenyon, has not shied away from exploring similar issues in his past works, which often find their teenage protagonists waxing philosophical over the meaning of life and the nature of the infinite. Infinite turtles is no problem.” ‘Surprises at infinity’ Why does there have to be an ultimate turtle? A single turtle is a problem. Her response is, well, it’s turtles all the way down.
Or if you’re a religious person, you might say it’s God.”īut what are atoms made of? Or who created God? “The question is, does it really satisfy us, having a foundation,” Richeimer said. “So if you believe in modern physics, you say what’s at the bottom is atoms. Something has to be at the bottom,” Richeimer said. The apocryphal story has been told in many versions, and while the hypothesis may seem absurd, it gets to the heart of an important philosophical question. When Russell asked what the turtle was standing on, the woman replied that it was “turtles all the way down.” After giving a lecture on astronomy, Russell was refuted by a woman in the audience, who claimed that the earth was situated not in space, but on the back of a large turtle. ‘Infinite turtles is no problem’Īccording to Professor of Philosophy Joel Richeimer, the phrase “turtles all the way down” stems from a story about the British philosopher Bertrand Russell. While little is known about the hotly anticipated book besides that its protagonist is a teenage girl trying to solve a mystery while struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, two Kenyon professors’ analysis of the titular phrase may offer some clues. When best-selling young-adult author John Green ’00 H’16 announced that his new novel, “Turtles All the Way Down,” would be released October 10, his millions of fans began speculating about the significance of the title.
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