math-historian-teacher-appu-thomas

  I think it does make a difference to the students’ learning when us as mathematics teach ers acknow ledge or a t least share the discoveries  of mathematic s   from cultures that are not just Euro-centered. One reason is because since Canadian c lassrooms are diversely m ulti-cultural, it improves the motivation of students who identify with mathematicians from their own culture to learn . M ore specifically , if students have role models in math that they can identify with because of commonality of cultural background , they can be proud of their heritage and be motivated to learn to be just like their models. Another reason is giving credit to where it is due models justice, and when students are made aware of this justice in mathematics class rooms, they will be filled with hope to learn. Finally, teachers will also be motivated to teach . F inding ways to incorporate histories of math in th eir lesson plans will give added purpose to their teaching . T...

  First ly, I love how Egyptian Mythology and mathematics are connected through the story of the Eye of Horus. I think that this will prove to be something that my students would be interested in if I included it into one of my lesson plans . T his may encourage them to be engaged to learn whatever comes after .   From the story of the Eye of Horus, I learned that Horus was in dispute with his uncle S et over the Egyptian throne, and during the dispute Set ripped Horus’ eye into six pieces. The Egyptian god Thoth restored Horus’ eye, and now the Eye of Horus stands for wholeness.   I find this story and the concept of wholeness in Ancient Egyptian mathema tics most intere sting. Each part of Horus’ Eye represented unit fractions (½, ¼, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 & 1/64) , which were used to measure grain . “ From today’s perspective, this collection of numbers makes up the first six terms of a geometric series whose sum converges to one. It is interesting that the...

Problem: A quantity, its half, its fourth and its eighth are added together to give 15. What is the quantity? Modern Solution: (x) + (x/2) + (x/4)+ (x/8) = 15                              (8x/8) + (4x/8) + (2x/8) + (x/8) = 15                              (8x + 4x + 2x + x)/8 = 15                              (15x)/(8) = 15                               15x = 120                                x = 8 Egyptian "False Position" Solution: Try x = 16                                                 ...

  One of the main takeaways from working on this assignment was that I found that it was exceedingly difficult to find information on how modern mathematics problems were solved using ancient methods. Thankfully, we did manage to find some information, but it made me realize how important it is for more well-known research to be accessible . Especially if we want a classroom culture where the true history of mathematics is understood , preceding European methods .   Even though I found this assignment challenging, I did find it extremely exciting and rewarding also. It was so cool to see how the m athematics I learned in high school was done in the ancient days.   I also noticed that the ancient peoples were first faced with a problem that they wanted to solve, and so once they managed to solve it , their curiosity led them to discover new things. That was the pro cess and the progress of ancient Babylonian mathematics, which is interesting.