Georg Kreisel facts for kids

Georg Kreisel FRS (born September 15, 1923 – died March 1, 2015) was an amazing mathematician and logician. He was born in Austria and later lived and worked in the United Kingdom and America. He was known for his important work in mathematical logic, which is a mix of mathematics and philosophy.

Life and Education

Kreisel was born in Graz, Austria. His family sent him to the United Kingdom in 1938. This was before a difficult time began in Austria. He studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. During World War II, he worked on projects for the military.

Kreisel did not get a traditional Ph.D. degree. However, in 1962, he earned a special degree called an Sc.D. from Cambridge. This degree is given to people who have done a lot of important published research.

Teaching and Research

Kreisel taught at the University of Reading from 1949 to 1954. After that, he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study from 1955 to 1957. He returned to Reading for a short time. Then he taught at Stanford University from 1958 to 1959.

He went back to Reading for a year, then taught at the University of Paris from 1960 to 1962. In 1962, Kreisel became a professor at Stanford University. He stayed there until he retired in 1985.

Kreisel worked on many different parts of logic. He was especially known for his work in proof theory. This area of math looks at how proofs are built. He developed something called the "unwinding" program. This program aimed to find hidden, practical ideas in proofs that seemed very complex.

Recognition and Friendships

In 1966, Kreisel was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. He was also a close friend of Francis Crick. Crick was a famous scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA. They met while serving in the Royal Navy during World War II.

When Kreisel was a student at Cambridge, he was highly respected by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein was a very famous philosopher. He once said that Kreisel was the smartest philosopher he had ever met who was also a mathematician.

Kreisel was also good friends with Iris Murdoch. She was an Anglo-Irish philosopher and writer. They met at Cambridge in 1947. Murdoch often wrote about Kreisel in her personal journals for many years. She even dedicated her 1971 novel An Accidental Man to him. He also inspired some characters in her other books.

Later Life

After he retired, Kreisel lived in Salzburg, Austria. He wrote several biographies about other famous mathematicians. These included Kurt Gödel, Bertrand Russell, and Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer. He passed away in Salzburg at the age of 91.

Fun Story

When Kreisel was teaching at The University of Reading, he often took the train to London. There was a very fast train that was perfect for going to shows in London. One day, he checked the timetable and saw that his usual train was canceled.

But out of habit, he showed up at the station at the usual time. To his surprise, the train was there! It turned out it was a special express train from Bristol to London. It only stopped at Reading to get water. Kreisel got on the train anyway. From then on, he took that train regularly.

One day, a conductor stopped him after he got on. The conductor said, "Sir, this train doesn't stop here!" Kreisel calmly replied, "In that case, I didn't get on here."

See also

• Kreisel–Putnam logic