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Review of The Babylonian Theorem
The author constructs a possible mathematical path from the ancient Babylonians to Pythagoras, Euclid, and the ancient Greeks. Read more
Review of The Math Book
In this fascinating and accessible book, the author devotes one lively, informative page of description and one striking, full-page illustration to each of 250 milestones in mathematics. Read more
Review of Agora
The movie Agora, about the mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 400 AD), is spectacular and intriguing but Hypatia should be portrayed as the hero she was. Read more
Problem from another time...
A Swarm of Bees
The square root of half the number of bees in a swarm has flown out upon a jessamine bush; 8/9 of the swarm has remained behind.
See whole problem
Loci: Convergence
Welcome to Convergence! This section of Loci offers a wealth of resources to help you teach mathematics using its history. Please check back regularly for new articles, look at all the archived articles in What's in Convergence?, and send us your comments and suggestions. As of July 1, 2009, the editors of this section are Janet Beery and Kathy Clark. The founding editors, Victor Katz and Frank Swetz, continue to be involved in the expansion of Mathematical Treasures.
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| 1654 | Pascal wrote to Fermat. In a... |
| 1867 | Quote from Thomas Hill. The ... |
| 1958 | NASA established. President ... |
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Meetings & events dealing with the History of Mathematics
Today's Quotation
Mathematics is not yet capable of coping with the naivete of the mathematician himself.
Sociology Learns the Language of Mathematics.
Illustrations
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Click the image above to enlarge it. Petrus Apianus’ (Peter Apian’s) 1534 Instrumentum sinuum sive primi contained the most accurate sine table published up until that time. On this page, Apianus illustrates and explains the nomogram he used to graphically determine his sine and versed sine values. For more information, see Peter Apian's trigonometry and geography in Mathematical Treasures. (Photo used courtesy of the Columbia University Library.) | |
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Logarithms: The Early History of a Familiar FunctionThe authors recount the 'great tale' of Napier's and Burgi's parallel development of logarithms and urge you to use it in class. |
A Disquisition on the Square Root of ThreeThe author compares Greek ladder, continued fraction, and Newton's Method approximations, noting that the Greek ladder easily gives both of Archimedes' famous bounds. |
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The Enigmatic Number e: A History in Verse and Its Uses in the Mathematics ClassroomThe author uses her poem, 'The Enigmatic Number e,' to show how poetry about the history of mathematics can be used to enrich and enliven mathematics instruction. |
Extracting Square Roots Made Easy: A Little Known Medieval MethodA method for extracting square roots used in Italy through the 18th century was introduced in a manuscript by the 12th century mathematician al-Hassar. Appendix: When Was Fermat Born? (Not in 1601 ...) |
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HOM SIGMAA 2010 Student Paper Contest WinnersDownload the three winning essays to learn about medieval Islamic dust boards, Old Babylonian similarity, and the Fermat Problem. |
Francois-Joseph Servois: Priest, Artillery Officer, and Professor of MathematicsAs this biography reveals, Servois fought in battles for Paris and for the foundations of calculus. |
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'In these numbers we use no fractions': A Classroom Module on Stevin's Decimal FractionsAfter completing this assignment on Simon Stevin's treatment of decimal fractions in his 1585 De Thiende, the author's preservice mathematics teachers understood why our usual procedure for multiplying such fractions works. |
Servois' 1814 Essay on the Principles of the Differential Calculus, with an English TranslationThe authors provide an analysis and English translation of the argument by a little known French mathematician that calculus should be based on series rather than on infinitesimals. |
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Discovering the Beauty of ScienceA math history class visits the 'Beautiful Science' exhibit at the Huntington Library in Southern California. |
Mathematical TreasuresA collection of images from the George Arthur Plimpton and David Eugene Smith Collections of Mathematical Materials in the Columbia University Library. |
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