| Professor: | |
| Douglas Anderson, Ph.D. | |
| Ivers 234D | |
| 299-4453 | |
| andersod@cord.edu |
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11-4; other times by discovery.
Course Objectives: Mathematics 250 is required for students going on the 2009 Math May Seminar, Math 300X. The primary aim of this course is to prepare ourselves as carefully and completely as possible to see and understand the relevance of mathematics when we travel abroad. This will include examining the historical and cultural background of the sites we visit, exploring the scientific and religious worldview of the cultures that produced the sites, and the ways in which they influence us today. We will answer the question, "Where is the mathematics?" from simple currency and modular clock arithmetic to the use of geometry in art, group theory in design, and statistics in government. We all must feel obligated to contribute to the discussion of issues; open disagreement is welcome. Each student researches two topics and delivers two 15-20 minute oral presentations, one a sketch from math history, one site based. Additionally, students will form research groups by country to serve as itinerary elaborators and guides. A class travel book will be printed for everyone, consisting of papers, maps, diagrams, and outlines explaining the history, architecture, layout, and so on of the sites.
| Texts: | ||
| Mathematics in Western Culture by Morris Kline | ||
| The Mystery of the Aleph by Amir D. Aczel | ||
| Math through the Ages by William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvea |
| Grading: | ||
| Two Presentations: Ages sketch; Country report | 20% | |
| Math-related Problems | 50% | |
| Written Assignments | 20% | |
| Math Journal | 5% | |
| Participation in Class Discussions, Attendance | 5% |
| Related Sites: | |
| 3D Unveils Great Pyramid's Mystery, a new theory by Jean-Pierre Houdin. | |
| Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols, maintained by Jeff Miller, based on A History of Mathematical Notations by Florian Cajori. | |
| Earliest Known Uses of some of the Words of Mathematics, also maintained by Jeff Miller. | |
| The MacTutor History of Mathematics, Archive. | |
| The History of Mathematics maintained by David R. Wilkins. | |
| The Math Forum @ Drexel. | |
| The Cayley Quilt Maker: Math Art Posters. | |
| Listen to Fourier Series. | |
| Concordia Math's Trip Itinerary: Daily (tentative) schedule for May 2009 | |
| Concordia Math May Seminar Links: Sites ranging from readings to weather | |
| Concordia Math May Sem Homepage: Full menu of links |
Written Assignments will include a few short papers related to course readings and handouts, and a written site/country report for our seminar travel book. This should be formatted as a two-column landscape Word document.
| DATE | CLASS SCHEDULE (Tentative) |
| January 5 | Introductions, Egyptian History; Engineering an Empire: Egypt I. |
| Read Kline I-IV. | |
| January 12 | Doug: Sketch 1, Sketch 2; Engineering an Empire: Egypt II. |
| Read Kline V-VIII, Handouts on Islam and Hieroglyphs. Do Ages 1,2,3 & 1,6. | |
| January 19 | Sketch 4, Sketch 5; Eratosthenes; epicycle; Archimedes-Infinite Secrets |
| Read Kline IX-XII, Schliemann and Scipio. Do Ages 1,2,3 & 5 | |
| January 26 | By Tens and Tenths: Sketch 6, Computing: Sketch 7; Ancient Athens |
| Read Kline XIII-XVI, Luther and Delphi. Do Ages 1,2 & 1,2,3. | |
| February 2 | Sketch 8, Sketch 9; Delphi, Frustum; Engineering an Empire: Rome I |
| Read Galileo packet, write 1-2 page response. Do Ages 1,2,5,6 & 1,2,3,7. | |
| February 9 | Sketch 10; Plimpton 322 Galileo; Engineering an Empire: Rome II |
| Read Kline XVII-XX. Do Ages 3 & 3,6. | |
| February 16 | Sketch 12, Sketch 13; Constable; Math Music; Secrets of the Parthenon. |
| Read Kline XXI-XXIII. Do Ages 4 & 1,1. | |
| March 9 | Sketch: 14, Sketch 15; 3 Problems; Logistic; Stonehenge. |
| Read Kline XXV-XXVII, Stonehenge Article. Do Ages 1-7 & 1-2. | |
| March 16 | Sketch 17, Sketch 18; Stars; Harriot; Medici I. |
| Read Mystery 1-117, Pascal's Sphere by Borges. Do Ages 1-3 & 1. | |
| March 23 | Sketch 19, Sketch 21; Spirals; Medici II. |
| Read Mystery 119-231, Michelangelo article. Do Ages 1-2 & 1-3. | |
| March 30 | Sketch 23; Country Presentations: Egypt; Cantor;Medici III |
| April 6 | Dauben's The Art of Renaissance Science; Linear Perspective |
| April 14 | Country Presentations: Egypt and Greece; Eiffel Tower. |
| April 20 | Country Presentations: Italy/Switzerland |
| April 27 | Paris and London subway systems; student photo journal management. |
| Research | 2005 Book |
| May Seminar Blog | 2009 Blog site Egypt Greece Italy/Swiss Paris/London |