Footfalls above "we would see the tracing on the stage floor of a tremendously elongated variation of the figures 8 turned on its side … the mathematical symbol for infinity." Beckett was also indebted to the French psychologist Pierre Janet for his conception of hysterical behaviour. In his overview of Janet's work, Robert Woodworth in his "Contemporary Schools of Psychology", a work Beckett read, pays particular attention to Janet's description of the "hysterical paralysis of one arm", which Beckett incorporated, into May's posture. There are a number of analogies between "Footfalls" and Janet's work with a patient called Irène: He lists
Infinity and the Mind the author's personal contact with Kurt Gödel. An appendix contains one of the few popular expositions on set theory research on what are known as "strong axioms of infinity." "Infinity and the Mind" was reviewed by the "New Yorker", which asserted that "Rudy Rucker's "Infinity and the Mind" is a terrific study with real mathematical depth." Martin Gardner described the book as "Informal, amusing, witty, profound... In an extraordinary burst of creative energy, Rudy Rucker has managed to bring together every aspect of mathematical infinity... A dizzying glimpse into that boundless region of blinding light where the mysteries of transcendence