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This book, a tribute to historian of mathematics Jeremy Gray, offers an overview of the history of mathematics and its inseparable connection to philosophy and other disciplines. Many different approaches to the study of the history of mathematics have been developed. Understanding this diversity is central to learning about these fields, but very few books deal with their richness and concrete suggestions for the “what, why and how” of these domains of inquiry. The editors and authors approach the basic question of what the history of mathematics is by means of concrete examples. For the “how” question, basic methodological issues are addressed, from the different perspectives of mathematicians and historians. Containing essays by leading scholars, this book provides a multitude of perspectives on mathematics, its role in culture and development, and connections with other sciences, making it an important resource for students and academics in the history and philosophy of mathematics.
In mathematics, technical difficulties can spark groundbreaking ideas. This book explores one such challenge: a problem that arose in the formative years of algebraic number theory and played a major role in the early development of the field. When nineteenth-century mathematicians set out to generalize E. E. Kummer's theory of ideal divisors in cyclotomic fields, they discovered that the existence of ?common inessential discriminant divisors? blocked the obvious path. Through extensively annotated translations of key papers, this book traces how Richard Dedekind, Leopold Kronecker, and Kurt Hensel approached these divisors, using them to justify the need for entirely new mathematical ideas and to demonstrate their power. Mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory will enjoy seeing what the field, which is still evolving today, looked like in its very early days. Historians of mathematics will find interesting questions for further study. Engaging and carefully researched, Common Inessential Discriminant Divisors is both a historical study and an invitation to experience mathematics as it was first discovered.
Although today's mathematical research community takes its international character very much for granted, this ``global nature'' is relatively recent, having evolved over a period of roughly 150 years-from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. During this time, the practice of mathematics changed from being centered on a collection of disparate national communities to being characterized by an international group of scholars for whom thegoal of mathematical research and cooperation transcended national boundaries. Yet, the development of an international community was far from smooth and involved obstacles such as war, political upheaval, and nationa...
This book examines the creation and character of mathematical training at Bryn Mawr College between 1885 and 1926 under the leadership of Charlotte Angas Scott. Though designated as a college, Bryn Mawr boasted the world?s first graduate degree programs in which women taught women. Through detailed analysis of Scott?s publications, student dissertations, and institutional records?including the college?s Journal Club Notebooks?the author reconstructs how a sustained, collaborative, and visually grounded style of mathematics emerged in this setting. Rather than focusing on biographical exceptionalism, the study situates Scott and her students within broader shifts in the American mathematical ...
Sofia Kovalevskaya was a brilliant and determined young Russian woman of the 19th century who wanted to become a mathematician and who succeeded, in often difficult circumstances, in becoming arguably the first woman to have a professional university career in the way we understand it today. This memoir, written by a mathematician who specialises in symplectic geometry and integrable systems, is a personal exploration of the life, the writings and the mathematical achievements of a remarkable woman. It emphasises the originality of Kovalevskaya’s work and assesses her legacy and reputation as a mathematician and scientist. Her ideas are explained in a way that is accessible to a general audience, with diagrams, marginal notes and commentary to help explain the mathematical concepts and provide context. This fascinating book, which also examines Kovalevskaya’s love of literature, will be of interest to historians looking for a treatment of the mathematics, and those doing feminist or gender studies.
The Proceedings of the ICM publishes the talks, by invited speakers, at the conference organized by the International Mathematical Union every 4 years. It covers several areas of Mathematics and it includes the Fields Medal and Nevanlinna, Gauss and Leelavati Prizes and the Chern Medal laudatios.
Containing cases decided by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
"The author explains that scientists had many concerns about putting their work into print when the printing press made that possible. This book explores both their attitudes and their strategies for navigating the publishing world"--
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