bothering Renee , it was something he couldn ’ t fathom ” ( 79 ). In fact , he feels “ no more than a sense of duty toward her ” ( 74 ). Similar to a devout person when faith and religion no longer provide structure and meaning , both Renee and Carl lose their bearings when they discover that what they have always taken as the truth of themselves and their world can no longer be trusted .
Chiang ’ s structure of “ Division by Zero ” adds further context to the effects of loss of faith . The story is laid out in eight numbered tripartite vignettes , with the exception of the last one , which only contains two sections (“ 9 ” and “ 9a ’ 9b ”). The first section is numbered one through nine and provides a mathematical concept ; the other two sections are based on either Renee ’ s perspective ( the “ a ” section ), or Carl ’ s perspective ( the “ b ” section ). Each initial section details a discrepancy in mathematical logic and we can read each one as a metaphor for faith and belief .
For example , in section six , the narrator tells us that “ In 1931 , Kurt Godel demonstrated two theorems . The first one shows , in effect , that mathematics contain statements that may be true , but are inherently unprovable . . . . His second theorem shows that a claim of the consistency of arithmetic is just such a statement : it cannot be proven true by any means using the axioms of arithmetic ” ( 79 ). In other words , mathematical truth and mathematical proof are not the same thing : we can know certain things to be true while not having the ability to prove they are true . Such is one of the definitions of faith : belief without proof .
Chiang provides us with an intimate look at what happens when what we believe “[ imposes ] meaning onto the universe ” is proven false and the proof comes , not from the outside , but from ourselves ( 86 ). As Renee tells
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