The Virtue of Mathematics and the Idea of Good Design (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics, 2015
Following John Napier’s invention of logarithms in 1614, the re- mainder of the sixteenth century saw an explosion of interest in the art of mathematics as a practical and worldly activity. Mathematics was no longer the exclusive realm of scholars, mathematicians, astronomers, and occasional gentlemen. Teachers of mathematics, instrument makers, chart makers, print- ers, booksellers, and authors of pamphlets, manuals, and books developed new audiences for the study of mathematics and changed the public’s perception of the status and aims of mathematics itself. The inventions of mathematical instrument makers facilitated the rapid expansion of sophisticated mathemat- ical problem solving among craftsmen and practitioners in areas as diverse as navigation, surveying, cartography, military engineering, astronomy, and the design of sundials. ======================================Apr`es l’invention par Napier des logarithmes en 1614, l’int ́erˆet pour l’art des math ́ematiques en tant qu’activit ́e pratique et mondaine a explos ́e au cours du XVIe si`ecle. Les Math ́ematiques n’ ́etaient plus le domaine exclusif des savants, math ́ematiciens, astronomes et gentilshommes. Professeurs et en- seignants de math ́ematiques, luthiers, cartographes, imprimeurs, libraires et auteurs de pamphlets, brochures, manuels et livres ont contribu ́e `a attirer un nouvel auditoire vers les Math ́ematiques et ils ont contribu ́e `a changer la per- ception du grand public du statut et des objectifs des math ́ematiques. Les inventions de fabricants d’instruments math ́ematiques ont facilit ́e l’expansion rapide de la r ́esolution de probl`emes math ́ematiques sophistiqu ́es parmi les artisans et les professionnels dans des domaines aussi divers que la navigation, l’arpentage, la cartographie, l’ing ́enierie militaire, l’astronomie et la conception d’horloges solaires.
A Cultural History of Mathematics in the Early Modern Age, 2024
ToC Introduction, Jeanne Peiffer and Volker Remmert 1. Everyday Numeracy, Maryvonne Spiesser 2. Practice and Profession, James Bennett 3. Inventing Mathematics, Sébastien Maronne 4. Mathematics and Worldviews, David Rabouin 5. Describing and Understanding the World, Antoni Malet 6. Mathematics and Technological Change, Thomas Morel 7. Representing Mathematics, Robert Goulding and Volker Remmert Notes Bibliography
Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750
European Architectural History Network, 2010
The exhibition Compass and Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750, at the Yale Center for British Art was the second incarnation of this show after having been exhibited at the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford in 2009. The idea supporting the exhibition originates from a double interdisciplinary partnership: one between the two Oxford-based curators, architectural historian Anthony Gerbino (Worcester College) and historian of science Stephen Johnston (Museum of the History of Science), and another collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Yale Center for British Art.
Mathematical practitioners and instruments in Elizabethan England (1991)
1991
A new culture of mathematics was developed in sixteenth-century England, the culture of 'the mathematicalls'. Its representatives were the self-styled mathematical practitioners who presented their art as a practical and worldly activity. The careers of two practitioners, Thomas Bedwell and Thomas Hood, are used as case studies to examine the establishment of this culture of the mathematicalls. Both practitioners self-consciously used mathematical instruments as key resources in negotiating their own roles. Bedwell defined his role in contrast to mechanicians and he secured patronage in military engineering and the service of the commonwealth; Hood worked in the commercial setting of London as a teacher, author, chartmaker, and retailer. Working in new contexts and dealing with new audiences of gentlemen and mechanicians, Bedwell and Hood used instruments to construct a public consensus on the status and aims of mathematics.
Mathematics and the Aesthetic Reviewed by Annalisa Crannell
2008
Mathematics and the Aesthetic is a heavy book. I mean this in the literal sense: at 288 pages, it weighs 721 grams. The book has the same dimensions as the little 206-page book on Fourier series that my mother studied from in 1959 [1], but into that small space it packs almost half again the number of pages and one-third again the mass. This weight is a tangible sign of the care that the authors, editors, and publisher used in putting the book together. The high-quality paper is matched by a sense of attention to detail throughout. The color pictures are carefully chosen and well presented; the text is easy to read. Which is all as it should be for a book with the word “Aesthetic” in the title. This is a daunting project to pull together, and there are many possible ways to botch the job. When we try to describe the aesthetics of mathematics—the discipline that gives us cohomology and nonlinear fourth-order partial differential equations—it’s far too easy to become pretentious and w...
H-Net Reviews, 2022
Wisdom tells us never to judge a book by its cover, but the front of Symbols and Things: Material Mathematics in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries-which depicts Victorian mathematician William Thomson (1824-1907) holding a green notebook while getting his portrait painted-does a good job of reflecting author Kevin Lambert's main argument: that understanding materials like the notebook is key to understanding Victorian mathematics. Informed by scholarship in history and philosophy of science, this book focuses on objects and the material environment in the development of eighteenth-and nineteenth-century British mathematics. More specifically, Lambert argues that "symbols"-abstract ideas and concepts in mathematics-are in a dynamic relationship with "things," or the material media available to mathematicians. This well-researched book explores the relationship between mathematics and the material environment in late Georgian and early Victorian England from a new perspective.
The Many and the Few: Mathematics, Democracy and the Aesthetic
2010
Educational Insights | Volume 13, Number 1, 2010 | Nathalie Sinclair …imm | The Many and the Few: Mathematics, Democracy and the Aesthetichttp://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v13n01/articles/sinclair\_pimm/index.html Page 1 of 18 Sinclair, N. and Pimm, D. (2010 Many and the Few: Mathematics, Democracy and the Aesthetic ). The EducationalInsights, 13(1).[Available:http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v13n01/articles/sinclair\_pimm/index.html\]
Reflections on the Relationships between Mathematics and Arts
Nexus Network Journal, 2023
This research is presenting and reflecting the philosophical analysis by Max Bense of the intellectual history of mathematics as a science of mind. Examples of important historical phases show corresponding relationships between mathematics and arts, including architecture and all areas of human creation abilities.