Derek Holton & John Stillwell 
RELAY RACE TO INFINITY, THE [EPUB ebook] 
Developments in Mathematics from Euclid to Fermat

Why were most historically important mathematicians wealthy? Why were they often lawyers and many had pastors for fathers? Why were original results sometimes discovered by two mathematicians independently within a short time of each other? Why did the Italian Fibonacci, speak Arabic?

It all began a couple of years ago, when one of the authors started to write short biographies of important historical mathematicians for the teaching journal Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom. It was felt that teachers generally knew very little about the way the subject developed or the people who developed it. And it was felt that historical knowledge would help them see how the subject progressed and enable them to fit in with the historical episodes that would be of interest to students.

Clearly, the book that developed contains mathematics up to the 17th century, but we are keen to set the subject in those times, to try to give short biographies of the people involved, as well as provide a perspective of the events that led up to the times and led up to the mathematics. Importantly, it is shown that the maths enterprise was not undertaken by a small few, but worked like a relay race. One or a few might take up an idea and develop it, but it often gets only so far. Later, others would take up the idea, the baton, and the relay race to find results continues.

Contents:

• Euclid:
  
  
  
  • Life and Times of Euclid
  
  
  • Geometry
  
  
  • Number Theory
  
  


• Liu Hui:
  
  
  
  • Life and Times of Liu Hui
  
  
  • Mathematics of Liu Hui
  
  
  • Chinese Mathematics After Liu Hui
  
  


• Fibonacci:
  
  
  
  • Life and Times of Fibonacci
  
  
  • Mathematics before Fibonacci
  
  
  • Mathematics of Fibonacci
  
  


• Fermat:
  
  
  
  • Life and Times of Fermat
  
  
  • Fermat’s Predecessors and Contemporaries
  
  
  • Numbers and Curves
  
  
  • Fermat’s Number Theory
  
  

Readership: Teachers and educators at all levels from primary to tertiary. Secondary and tertiary students. This book is also aimed at the general readership to enhance their appreciation of mathematics.

‘This book is a valuable source for mathematics teachers and educators on aspects related to the history of mathematics. In addition, it allows aspiring mathematicians to appreciate the process of knowledge creation in Mathematics.’ – Berinderjeet Kaur Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

‘The historical figures serve only as a vehicle for presenting some interesting mathematical explorations. It is the latter which is the main focus of the book. The book is also written in a delightful style, light, witty, engaging, and inviting.’ – Michael N Fried Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

‘The authors write in an inviting and conversational style and often pepper the prose with witty asides, making the book an enjoyable read.’ – Pee Choon Toh Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Key Features:

• The book is not solely based on maths and the mathematicians who made important discoveries; maths and mathematicians are set against the world during their times


• Maths has often been taught as a series of techniques. The human side of the topic has gotten lost. We are trying to show mathematicians as people with their own daily problems that they have to cope with. For example, Pascal and the very bad migraines that he suffered for virtually all of his life


• In an effort to add a more personal side to their teaching, the various episodes in the book should enable teachers to provide their students with interesting stories. These will make the subject more compelling and will help them to remember aspects of the syllabus


• We strongly believe that this approach is not only more fun, but also more enlightening; avoiding the sin of confronting students with concepts in modern form without any clues about their origins or motivation