Analogy and invention some remarks on Poincaré's analysis situs papers

Claudio Bartocci

pp. 1-23

in: Hassan Tahiri (ed), The philosophers and mathematics, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

The primary role played by analogy in Henri Poincaré's work, and in particular in his "analysis situs" papers, is emphasized. Poincaré's "sixth example" (showing that Betti numbers do not suffice to classify 3-manifolds) and his construction of the homology sphere are discussed in detail.

Cited authors

Poincaré Henri