How to Read Historical Mathematics (eBook)

Benjamin Wardhaugh (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2010
136 Seiten
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-1-4008-3533-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Techniques for deciphering texts by early mathematiciansWritings by early mathematicians feature language and notations that are quite different from what we're familiar with today. Sourcebooks on the history of mathematics provide some guidance, but what has been lacking is a guide tailored to the needs of readers approaching these writings for the first time. How to Read Historical Mathematics fills this gap by introducing readers to the analytical questions historians ask when deciphering historical texts.Sampling actual writings from the history of mathematics, Benjamin Wardhaugh reveals the questions that will unlock the meaning and significance of a given text-Who wrote it, why, and for whom? What was its author's intended meaning? How did it reach its present form? Is it original or a translation? Why is it important today? Wardhaugh teaches readers to think about what the original text might have looked like, to consider where and when it was written, and to formulate questions of their own. Readers pick up new skills with each chapter, and gain the confidence and analytical sophistication needed to tackle virtually any text in the history of mathematics.Introduces readers to the methods of textual analysis used by historiansUses actual source material as examplesFeatures boxed summaries, discussion questions, and suggestions for further readingSupplements all major sourcebooks in mathematics historyDesigned for easy referenceIdeal for students and teachers

Autor

Benjamin Wardhaugh is a postdoctoral research fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford. He is the author of Music, Experiment, and Mathematics in England, 1653-1705.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.3.2010
• Zusatzinfo: 5 halftones.
• Verlagsort: Princeton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Geometrie / Topologie
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Geschichte der Mathematik
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: abstract algebra • algebraic equation • Algebraic function • Annotation • Astronomy • Axiom • Bibliography • Blaise Pascal • Cambridge University Library • Cambridge University Press • Carl Friedrich Gauss • conjecture • counterexample • Cube root • Diagram (category theory) • Dictionary of Scientific Biography • Divisor (algebraic geometry) • Edition (book) • Emmy Noether • Encyclopedia • Equation • Equation solving • Évariste Galois • exercise book • Facsimile • Florian Cajori • Foundations of mathematics • Galois Theory • Glossary • Google Books • group theory • Harvard University Press • Illustration • Infinitesimal • Introductio in analysin infinitorum • Isaac Newton Institute • James Gleick • Jeremy Gray • JSTOR • Lagrange's Theorem • Lagrange's theorem (group theory) • Lagrange's theorem (number theory) • Lateral Thinking • Lecture • Leonhard Euler • Library catalog • linear algebra • Marin Mersenne • Mathematical instrument • Mathematical Notation • Mathematical Proof • mathematician • Mathematics • Mathematics Magazine • Newton's law of universal gravitation • Newton's laws of motion • Newton's rings • Non-Euclidean geometry • Notation • Old Book (ghost) • Oliver Lodge • opticks • palgrave macmillan • Paperback • Permutation • Plus and minus signs • primary source • Prime number • Princeton University Press • printing • Publication • public lecture • public library • Publishing • Pure Mathematics • Quantity • real number • Research institute • scientific notation • S. (Dorst novel) • secondary source • sophie germain • Spherical trigonometry • statistical significance • Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar • Summa de arithmetica • Textbook • The Ladies' Diary • Theorem • theory • theory of equations • The Textbooks • Thickness (graph theory) • treatise • Trigonometry • Variable (mathematics) • Web of science • word processor • Writing • Writing Style
• ISBN-10: 1-4008-3533-X / 140083533X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4008-3533-1 / 9781400835331