Published in 2014, tells the story of how, in the seventeenth century, Italian Jesuit authorities evidently tried to suppress the idea of infinitesimals in mathematics and how subsequently their flourishing led to the development of calculus and shifted the balance of world culture and the influence of nations.
"Researchers in Spain have recently proved, mathematically, that particles charged in a magnetic field can escape into infinity without ever stopping. When this happens, under a certain set of conditions, particles will either never stop, as in a loop, or actually escape the limits of a spherical surface, no matter how big the surface may be."
"Mathematical Expeditions is a collection of over 500 culturally and historically diverse mathematical problems carefully chosen to enrich mathematics teaching from middle school through the college level." Forthcoming June 2012.
"Despite what we may sometimes imagine, popular mathematics writing didn't begin with Martin Gardner. In fact, it has a rich tradition stretching back hundreds of years. This entertaining and enlightening anthology--the first of its kind--gathers nearly one hundred fascinating selections from the past 500 years of popular math writing, bringing to life a little-known side of math history."
"Fascinating Mathematical People is a collection of informal interviews and memoirs of sixteen prominent members of the mathematical community of the twentieth century, many still active. The candid portraits collected here demonstrate that while these men and women vary widely in terms of their backgrounds, life stories, and worldviews, they all share a deep and abiding sense of wonder about mathematics."
"Chances are you've seen this symbol before, because it's one of the most well-known Egyptian symbols. It's called the Eye of Horus. It's been in the background of plenty of mummy movies, and been turned into a lot of necklace charms. Some people think it's writing. Actually, it's math."
"Albert Einstein called her the most "significant" and "creative" female mathematician of all time, and others of her contemporaries were inclined to drop the modification by sex. She invented a theorem that united with magisterial concision two conceptual pillars of physics: symmetry in nature and the universal laws of conservation."
Text from an interview with John H. Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge, discussing history of cultural understanding of infinity, as well as different understandings of infinity - mathematical, physical, cosmological
A 'must try' vast site with a irresistible bounty of downloadable and printable resources for across the curriculum that you will come to treasure.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Cross+Curricular
LOG IN January 24th 9pm ET: http://tinyurl.com/MathFutureEvent
Music and mathematics have been linked together for thousands of years, but rarely have students had the opportunity to explore the many connections that exist between them. To try to fill this gap, Mike Thayer of Hyperbolic Guitars is developing a course. At the event, we will discuss the course outline, as well as math and music links in general.
All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events
The recording will be at http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/HyperbolicGuitarsCourse
Event challenge!
Help Mike find a resource - a web page, a video, a music piece - to go with one of the topics in the course outline. Full syllabus and details of the outline:
http://hyperbolicguitars.wikispaces.com/Math+%26+Music+Course
Major topics:
What is sound, anyway?
The physics of waves
The mathematics of waves
Resonance
Elasticity
The generation of sound by "simple" systems
The vibrating string
The vibrating rod
The vibrating plate (e.g., drumhead or cymbal)
Open and closed pipes
The Helmholtz resonator (--> the vocal chords)
White noise, pink noise
The concept of "timbre"
The perception of sound
Human listeners
Other "listeners": Digital recording
The interaction between the generator and the listener: the science of acoustics
What makes sound become music?
What does a listener "listen for" in music?
Basics of music and musical notation: Musical descriptions
Basics of music: Psycho-physical (auditory) descriptions
What makes sound "musical" (
This is a superb site from the TES with a large collection of great flash whiteboard resources for across the curriculum for Primary schools. There is something for everyone here!
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Cross+Curricular
"This book is designed to provide mathematics undergraduates with some historical background to the material that is now taught universally to students in their final years at school and the first years at college or university: the core subjects of calculus, analysis, and abstract algebra, along with others such as mechanics, probability, and number theory. All of these evolved into their present form in a relatively limited area of western Europe from the mid sixteenth century onwards, and it is there that we find the major writings that relate in a recognizable way to contemporary mathematics."