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Review of In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman
Review of Cook's text which discusses the history and computational progress of the traveling salesman problem. Read more
Review of L'algebre au temps de Babylone: Quand les mathematiques s'ecrivaient sur de l'argile
[Translation of title: Algebra in the Time of Babylon. When Mathematics Were Written on Clay.] A thorough review of Jens Hoyrup's revision, expansion, and French translation of his own 1998 book for Danish high-school students. Read more
Review of The Genesis of Science: The Story of Greek Imagination
Review of Bertram's text on the history of Greek science. Read more
Review of The Chinese Roots of Linear Algebra
An excellent and careful study of matrix methods for solving systems of linear equations in first century China. Read more
Review of Eratosthenes' Geography
An English translation of Eratosthenes' Geography, which includes "On the Measurement of the Earth." Read more
Problem from another time...
Brazen Lion
I am a brazen lion; my spouts are my 2 eyes, my mouth, and the flat of my foot. My right eye fills a jar in 2 days, my left eye in 3, and my foot in 4.
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, browse our archived articles in What's in Convergence?, and visit our newest feature, Who's That Mathematician? The Paul R. Halmos Photograph Collection. Make MAA Loci: Convergence your source for mathematics history and its use in teaching!
Convergence editors: Janet Beery, Kathy Clark
Convergence founding editors: Victor Katz, Frank Swetz
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| 1677 | John Collins wrote, "The trut... |
| 1747 | Aida Yasuaki born. In 1788 t... |
| 1891 | Sofia Kovalevskaya died in St... |
| 1576 | Xylander, translator of Eucli... |
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Meetings & events involving the History of Mathematics
Today's Quotation
A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas. . . . The mathematician's patterns, like the painter's or the poet's, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colors or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test; there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.
G. H. Hardy
Mathematical Treasures
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Who's That Mathematician? Images from the Paul R. Halmos Photograph CollectionWe invite you to send us information about photographs of mathematicians taken by Paul Halmos (1916-2006). |
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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Algebraic Formalism within the Works of Servois and Its Influence on the Development of Linear Operator TheoryHow Servois' failed attempt to construct a foundation for the calculus nonetheless helped shape modern mathematics |
Kepler: The Volume of a Wine BarrelIn his analysis of volumes of wine barrels, Kepler used ideas that would become important in differential and integral calculus. Use this article's animated visual imagery to help share Kepler's ideas with your students. |
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Peano on Wronskians: A TranslationHow a translation of Peano's counterexample to the 'theorem' that a zero Wronskian implies linear dependence can help your differential equations students |
Extending al-Karaji's Work on Sums of Odd Powers of IntegersAn extension of Al-Karaji's formula for the sum of the cubes by a 19th century Turkish author and journal editor |
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Teaching and Research with Original Sources from the Euler ArchiveHow faculty and students can use and contribute to the MAA Euler Archive! |
Maya Calendar ConversionsThe authors provide descriptions of Maya calendar systems, photos of artifacts, examples of calendar conversions, and exercises for classroom use. |
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SMURCHOM: Providing Opportunities for Undergraduate Research in the History of MathematicsA description of a long-running conference in which undergraduate mathematics students gather to share their research on the history of mathematics. |
Combining Strands of Many Colors: Episodes from Medieval Islam for the Mathematics ClassroomThe author presents five modules based on mathematics from medieval Islamic cultures for use in a variety of high school and college mathematics courses. |
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