considered the goal of mathematical research as the
enrichment of knowledge without regard to applications;
he believed that mathematics could attain the highest
development only if it were pursued as an end in itself,
independent of the external reality of nature. It is
in this context that his rejection of multidimensional
geometries should be mentioned.
Does anyone have more information about Kummer's "rejection of multidimensional
geometries"?
(I wrote to Biermann, but he says he no longer recall his source for this.)
Jim Propp
Department of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin