历史与综述
Mathematical modelling and ethics have more touching points than most of us would like to admit. Everyday decisions are often reasoned by mathematical arguments. Mathematics teachers belong to those mathematically literate, who must point…
In this paper we intend to connect two different strands of research concerning the origin of what I shall loosely call "formal" ideas: firstly, the relation between logic and rhetoric - the theme of the 2006 Cambridge conference to which…
In this paper I study the connection between logic and metaphysics in Plato's participation theory, from the structural properties of the latter. Although Plato was the first ever to formulate the contradiction principle explicitly (in the…
We discuss the work of a brilliant line of Mathematicians who lived in central Kerala and starting with its founder Madhava (1350 CE) developed what can best be described as Calculus and applied it to a class of trigonometric functions. We…
The development of the trigonometric functions in introductory texts usually follows geometric constructions using right triangles or the unit circle. While these methods are satisfactory at the elementary level, advanced mathematics…
In this article, we study the problems found in the Susa Mathematical Texts No.\,24 and No.\,25 (\textbf{SMT No.\,24} and \textbf{SMT No.\,25}) which concern excavation projects such as canals and holes. We also examine certain Elamite…
In chapter VIII of Introductio in analysin infinitorum, Euler derives a series for sine, cosine, and the formula $e^{iv}=\cos v+i\sin v$ His arguments employ infinitesimal and infinitely large numbers and some strange equalities. We…
The "interior goat problem" is a numerical puzzle which has haunted mathematicians for nearly three centuries. Closed-form solutions have only been found for the two-dimensional case, and although approximations have been established for…
The basic notions of logic-predicate logic, Peano arithmetic, incompleteness theorems, etc.-have for long been an advanced topic. In the last decades, they became more widely taught, inphilosophy, mathematics, and computer science…
A tessellation or tiling is a collection of sets, called tiles, that cover a plane without gaps and overlaps. The present note is an invitation to get to know the beauty and majesty of tessellations and triangulation of orientable surfaces.
We investigated some difficulties that students often face when studying linear algebra at the undergraduate level, and identified some common mistakes and difficulties they often encountered when dealing with topics that require…
Joseph Bertrand [1822--1900], who is often credited with a model of duopoly that has a unique Nash equilibrium, made another significant contribution to game theory. Specifically, his 1888 analysis of baccarat was the starting point for…
This is a short essay on the roles of Max Dehn and Axel Thue in the formulation of the word problem for (semi)groups, and the story of the proofs showing that the word problem is undecidable.
The story on the early days of the Quantum Ergodic Theorem. Alternative proof, underlying heuristics, physical analogies and interpretations.
Regarding the famous Sea Battle Argument, which Aristotle presents in De Interpretatione 9, there has never been a general agreement not only about its correctness but also, and mainly, about what the argument really is. According to the…
This paper is an adaptation of the introduction to a book project by the late Mitchell J. Feigenbaum (1944-2019). While Feigenbaum is certainly mostly known for his theory of period doubling cascades, he had a lifelong interest in optics.…
How do we characterize the shape of a surface? It is now well understood that the shape of a surface is determined by measuring how curved it is at each point. From these measurements, one can identify the directions of largest and smallest…
This article studies three-dimensional objects and their volumes in Elamite mathematics, particularly those found in the Susa Mathematical Tablet No.\,14 (\textbf{SMT No.\,14}). In our discussion, we identify some basic solids whose volumes…
In 2004, Andrew Granville proved the following: A polynomial in variables $x,y,z,$ invariant under the map $\varphi: z \to -(x+y+z)$ is a polynomial in $b = z(x+y+z)$. We tell, curtly, its history and then give a variation on this theme.
Leibniz scholarship is currently an area of lively debate. We respond to some recent criticisms by Archibald et al.