Imagining numbers (particularly the square root of minus fifteen)

By B. Mazur

Subjects: Mathematics, philosophy, Imagination, Philosophy, Numbers, complex, Philosophie, Mathématiques, Mathematics

Description: Mazur considers the range of our imaginative experiences, especially in relation to mathematics. When we imagine a number, in particular an impossible number such as the square root of a negative quantity, what imaginative object might this bring to mind?