Math Through the Ages : A Gentle History for Teachers and Others 9780486838977, 0486838978

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Author / Uploaded
William P. Berlinghoff
Fernando Q. Gouvea

Citation preview

SECOND EDITION

MATH THROUGH THE AGES

MATH THROUGH THE AGES

A Gentle History for Teachers and Others Second Edition

William P. Berlinghoff Fernando Q. Gouvêa Colby College

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. Mineola, New York

Copyright Copyright © 2002, 2014 by William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvêa All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note This Dover edition, first published in 2019, is an unabridged republication of the second printing of the 2014 second edition of the work, originally published by Oxton House Publishers, Farmington, Maine, in 2002.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Berlinghoff, William P., author. | Gouvêa, Fernando Q. (Fernando Quadros), author. Title: Math through the ages: a gentle history for teachers and others / William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvêa. Description: Second edition, Dover edition. | Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2019. | Second edition originally published: Farmington, Maine: Oxton House Publishers, 2014. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018045098 | ISBN 9780486832845 | ISBN 0486832848 Subjects: LCSH: Mathematics—History. Classification: LCC QA21 .B47 2019 | DDC 510.9—dc23 LC record available at https:/ /lccn.loc.gov/2018045098 Manufactured in the United States by LSC Communications 83284801 2019 www.doverpublications.com

MATHEMATICS

“This is a beautiful, important book, a pleasure to read, in which the history recounted truly illuminates the mathematical ideas, and the ideas themselves are superbly explained; a wonderful accomplishment.” —Barry Mazur, Harvard University “Math Through the Ages is a treasure, one of the best history of math books at its level ever written. Somehow, it manages to stay true to a surprisingly sophisticated story, while respecting the needs of its audience. Its overview of the subject captures most of what one needs to know, and the 30 sketches are small gems of exposition that stimulate further exploration.” —Glen Van Brummelen, Quest University

D

Reprint of the Oxton House Publishers, Farmington, Maine, 2014 second edition.

$14.95 USA

PRINTED IN THE USA

ISBN-13: 978-0-486-83284-5 ISBN-10: 0-486-83284-8 51495

9 780486 832845

www.doverpublications.com

Cover images courtesy of GettyImages.com. Cover design by Peter Donahue

esigned for students just beginning their study of the discipline, this concise introductory history of mathematics is supplemented by brief but in-depth sketches of the more important individual topics. Covering such subjects as algebra symbols, negative numbers, the metric system, quadratic equations, and much more, this widely adopted work invites and encourages further study of mathematics.