Essays on Mathematicians

Introduction

Nowadays, Math is comparatively accessible discipline to everyone, who is eager to master it, and has some basic logical skills. It is because of the wide range of contemporary textbooks, hundreds of helpful websites and numerous highly-qualified teachers and professors, who are not only acquainted with the discipline itself, but are also talented in the art of teaching. However, the situation was not so bright in the old times, when the books on Math could not have been comprehended by a common person. Moreover, many theoretical and practical issues still had not been resolved, which complicated the teaching process ...

1. Response to Kirsten Frazier Yes Kirsten, you rightly said that the present number system invented by the Hindus was actually a cue taken from the Babylonian system. Indefinite spacing between numbers led to the invention of zero (Berlinghoff, 2004, p. 67). The Babylonian system was a sexagesimal system; with base 60. Big spaces were used between numbers to show larger shifts in place values. The Hindu numerals also utilized the addition system of the Egyptian system. Before zero was invented, the Babylonians could feel the empty spaces between numbers and they could see their absence. Historians have evidences ...

1. Response to Kevin Dalanecy Advancements in research are primarily due to analysis of theorems, axioms and practical evidences stated in the past Mathematics, like any other field, has a rich history of origin, filled with a variety of ideas and concepts. Yes Kevin, you have clearly said that anthropologists possess prehistoric artifacts as evidences. (Berlinghoff 7), which proves that math, traces its history to a very early period. Artifacts dating back to around 30,000 years old show notches carved into bones, which represent a set of events or a person’s age. Tools used by Homo erectus ...

Questions and Answers

1. The beginning of mathematics dates back to any civilization ever formed, which developed a form of writing. Use of numbers, shapes and basic mathematical operations could be seen in almost every civilization, in the form of quantification in crafts, trade and work. On studying construction sites, anthropologists could clearly conclude that some amount of mathematical understanding prevailed in the people. Evidences found in the rectangular bases of buildings, in the designs of weaving patterns, basketry; craft etc. all prove that there existed an understanding of mathematics even in early civilizations. In about 500BC, trade and tax laws were ...

It’s a principle that provides the basic and the essential part in the mathematics of sorting and even counting. This principle was introduced by Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet in 1834. He called it the shelf principle or drawer principle. However, many people appreciate his insight and call it the Dirichlet drawer principle. The name pigeonhole was introduced in 1940 by Raphael Robinson. In the literal sense, pigeonholes refer to shelves or holes used to place pigeons. Thus, the principle roughly states that if one has a given number of boxes and a given number of items to ...

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Perhaps no other number has fascinated scientists, mathematicians and artists alike as the Golden Ratio. Also known as the golden mean or golden section (depending on its application), the Golden Ratio is observed by many people to occur naturally, manifesting itself in many natural shapes and geometry. This interesting phenomenon has resulted in an almost cult-like fascination among many people. In fact, there are people, including notable scientists and mathematicians with the likes of Johannes Kepler, Leonardo Da Vinci and Fra Luca Pacioli, who refer to the Golden Ratio as the ‘Divine Proportion,’ suggesting that the Golden ...

Article: Trolls Flood “Ghostbusters” IMDb Ratings, But Female Film Critics Fight Back

Response Thesis: The ratings in Ghostbusters are just a sign of the misogynist problem in the modern American Society The ratings on the film, ‘Ghostbusters’, an all female cast film, are not based on the true feelings of these men on the quality of the movie, but rather by the misogynistic inclinations of the average men in America. Giving a rating of one out of ten even before the official release of the movie is not only disrespectful, but also highly irresponsible, as it is a testament that the male critics do not dislike the movie, but rather, they ...

Men have always dominated in the field of mathematical studies, but some women managed to achieve there more success than their male colleagues. One of such outstanding women was Emmy Noether. Amalie Emmy Noether was a Jewish German mathematician and one of the most famous female scholars in the history of mathematics. She made significant contributions to theoretical physics and abstract algebra and established the theories of fields, rings, and algebras and famous Noether’s theorem that demonstrated bindings between conservation laws and symmetry. As Nathan Jacobson said, “Emmy Noether was one of the most influential mathematicians of the ...

Introduction

The concept of infinity is one of the most important and "mysterious" concepts in science. Even in ancient times, many philosophers and mathematicians thought about the contradictions of this concept. In mathematics, the contradictions associated with the idea of ​​ infinite numbers have intensified after the establishment of the theory of infinite sets at the end of XIX century. This theory caused many paradoxes in the previous views on mathematics (Wilkins).

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Introduction of actual infinity as the basic scientific concepts in math has created new problems (as usually every major innovation in science does). Because of this issue, philosophy and ...

Introduction

Geometry is an important branch of mathematics. Its origin goes back thousands of years and is primarily associated with the development of crafts, culture, arts, work with human activities and the supervision of the world. This is evidenced by the names of geometric shapes. For example, the name of "trapezoid" figure comes from the Greek word "trapezion" – table (Gordh and Headrick).

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In the fifth century BC, there was a decisive turn in the development of geometry. This development is connected with the name of Thales, a native of the city of Miletus. Thales was a merchant who spared his ...

John Swales describes a discourse community as a group of people who are usually bonded together by a particular issue or interest. The group may comprise of people with similar goals and objectives about a particular topic, and they then come up with a forum where they can discuss these similar interests, as they work towards achieving the specific goals and objectives in life (Swales 217).These people share a common ideology and a similar way of discussing issues. The communities can be from a vast group of heritage such as a fandom, certain fields of study and also ...