Logicomix

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth is a graphic
novel about the foundational quest in mathematics, writ-
ten by Apostolos Doxiadis, author of Uncle Petros and
Goldbachs Conjecture, and theoretical computer scientist
Christos Papadimitriou of the University of California,
Berkeley. Character design and artwork are by Alecos
Papadatos and color is by Annie Di Donna. The book
was originally written in English, and was translated into
Greek by author Apostolos Doxiadis for the release in
Greece, which preceded the UK and U.S. releases.
Netherlands August 15, 2009, De Vliegende Hol-
lander, ISBN 978-90-495-0079-5
United Kingdom September 7, 2009, Bloomsbury,
ISBN 0-7475-9720-0
United States September 29, 2009, Bloomsbury
USA, ISBN 1-59691-452-1
France May 10, 2010, Vuibert, ISBN 978-2-7117-
4351-3

Italy June 10, 2010, Guanda, ISBN 978-88-6088-

168-7
1 Plot
Germany August 30, 2010, Atrium-Verlag, ISBN
978-3-85535-069-8
Set between the late 19th century and present-day, the
graphic novel Logicomix is based on the story of the so- Finland September 10, 2010, Avain, ISBN 978-
called foundational quest in mathematics. 951-692-786-5
Logicomix intertwines the philosophical struggles with Brazil 2010, Martins Fontes, ISBN 978-85-7827-
the characters own personal turmoil. These are in turn 278-4
played out just upstage of the momentous historical
events of the era and the ideological battles which gave Croatia (Stripologikon) - 2010, Logicomix Print Ltd.
rise to them. The narrator of the story is Bertrand Russell, / Mate d.o.o., ISBN 978-953-246-119-0
who stands as an icon of many of these themes: a deeply
Spain (Logicomix. Una bsqueda pica de la ver-
sensitive and introspective man, Russell was not just a
dad) March 24, 2011, Ediciones Sins Entido,
philosopher and pacist, he was also one of the promi-
ISBN 978-84-96722-74-3
nent gures in the foundational quest. Russells life story,
depicted by Logicomix, is itself a journey through the Norway 2010, Arneberg, ISBN 978-82-8220-
goals and struggles, and triumph and tragedy shared by 028-8
many great thinkers of the 20th century: Georg Cantor,
Ludwig Wittgenstein, G. E. Moore, Alfred North White- Poland November 2011, W.A.B., ISBN 978-83-
head, David Hilbert, Gottlob Frege, Henri Poincar, Kurt 7747-535-5
Gdel, and Alan Turing.
Denmark February 2012, Politisk Revy, ISBN
A parallel tale, set in present-day Athens, records the cre- 978-87-7378-325-2
ators disagreement on the meaning of the story, thus set-
ting in relief the foundational quest as a quintessentially Czech Republic September 2012, Dokoran, ISBN
modern adventure. It is on the one hand a tragedy of 978-80-7363-401-8
the hubris of rationalism, which descends inextricably on
Russia March 2014, Kar'era Press, ISBN 978-5-
madness, and on the other an origin myth of the com-
904946-70-8
puter.
Iran March 2014, Fatemi Publishing Co., ISBN
978-964-318-755-2
2 Releases
3 Reception
In chronological order:
Jim Holt reviewed the book for the New York Times and
Greece October 20, 2008, Ikaros Publications, says the story is presented with real graphic verve. (Even
ISBN 978-960-8399-67-9 though Im a text guy, I couldnt keep my eyes o the witty

1
2 7
drawings.)" although he does note one serious misstep
involving the overplaying of the impact Russells para-
dox had on mathematics.[1] A review at The Guardian
said that the authors tell the story with a humour and
lightness of touch that pokes fun at the philosophers and
mathematicians involved, but never trivialises the philos-
ophy or the mathematics concluding that Doxiadis has
shown that by using ction to provide an emotional con-
text to mathematical discoveries it can make for a grip-
ping read. Uncle Petros was a bestseller and the much
more ambitious Logicomix deserves to be one too.[2]
The book was recommended by the New Statesman in
late September.[3] On October 2 the book made the New
York Times, Sunday Book Review, Editors Choice list[4]
and the next week it was #1 on the NYT Graphic Novel
Best Seller list.[5] The book sold out on the day it was re-
leased in the United States and United Kingdom, and also
got into the Top 10 on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk,
leading the manager of a major Athens bookstore to say
No Greek book has sold abroad like this in 30 years.[6]
4 Historical accuracy
According to Paolo Mancosu, the authors admittedly
take liberties with the real course of events, for exam-
ple with reference to the alleged meetings Russell would
have had with Frege and Cantor. Although such depar-
tures from reality can be fruitful for narrative purposes,
according to Mancosu, in some cases they are objection-
able, as the portrayal of Frege as a rabid paranoid an-
tisemite, and the constant refrain of the alleged causal
link between logic and madness. From the conceptual
point of view, some of the major ideas about the founda-
tion of mathematics are conveyed with reasonable accu-
racy, although sometimes errors, mistakes and inaccura-
cies occur.[7]
However, the global judgement by Mancosu is positive:
I enjoyed reading Logicomix immensely.
The authors have tackled an extremely compli-
cated subject with thought provoking ideas in
an aesthetically pleasing and entertaining fash-
ion. Thus, my few critical remarks should
not mislead you. I highly recommend Logi-
comix even though my recommendation is
qualied: the reader should provide his/her
grain of salt.[8]
5 Notes
[1] Algorithm and Blues, New York Times, September 28,
2009
[2] Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H Pa-
padimitriou, The Guardian, October 3, 2009
EXTERNAL LINKS
[3] The NS Recommends., New Statesman, 28 September
2009
[4] Editors Choice, New York Times, October 2, 2009
[5] Graphic Books Best Seller List, New York Times, October
9, 2009
[6] Bertrand Russell 'maths comic' hits bestseller lists, AFP,
October 12, 2009
[7] Mancosu, Paolo (September 2010). Review (PDF). The
Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. 16 (3): 3940. Retrieved 7
August 2013.
[8] Mancosu, Paolo (1 January 2011). Book Review: Logi-
comix by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou,
Alecos Papadatos, and Annie di Donna. Journal of
Humanistic Mathematics. scholarship.claremont.edu. 1
(1): 137152. doi:10.5642/jhummath.201101.10. ISSN
2159-8118. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
6 References
A labor of love completed (PDF). Athens Plus.
2008-10-24. p. 14.
Psaropoulos, John (20 Mar 2009). Beauty is truth,
truth beauty. Athens News. Athens: Myenpi Pub-
lishing. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
Logicomix at the Comic Book DB
7 External links
Ocial website
Unusual Greek math comic tops bestseller lists
worldwide, Deutsche Welle, October 12, 2009
Logicomix, en epic search for truth (private website,
7 August 2013)
Making of Logicomix
7.1 Reviews
Math, Philosophy, Comics and Bertrand Russells
Search for Truth, Publishers Weekly, April 14, 2009
Bertrand Russell: The thinking persons superhero,
The Independent, September 2, 2009
Logicomix, Financial Times, September 5, 2009
Essay Review by Paolo Mancosu, pp. 1 14, U.C.
Berkeley, January 2010
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8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text
Logicomix Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logicomix?oldid=767314169 Contributors: Michael Hardy, Skysmith, DavidWBrooks,
Emperor, Palfrey, MacGyverMagic, Ricky81682, Salix alba, Mattmm, SmackBot, Curly Turkey, Charivari, Bonzi, Gregbard, JustAGal,
KConWiki, David Eppstein, Popopp, Bearsona, MystBot, Addbot, Luckas-bot, Junkcops, Deftera, GrouchoBot, Omnipaedista, Benadikt,
LucienBOT, Margaritametzger, FoxBot, Alexander ehmann, WikitanvirBot, Bardia67, Jufeneck, Tolly4bolly, Repazzo, ClueBot NG,
Masssly, Helpful Pixie Bot, Argento Surfer, FeralOink, Lord Ya, Denise1gr, Monkbot, Bender the Bot and Anonymous: 24

8.2 Images

8.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0