Overview

This book comprises five parts. The first three contain ten historical essays on important topics: number theory, calculus/analysis, and proof, respectively.  Part four deals with several historically oriented courses, and Part five provides biographies of five mathematicians—Dedekind, Euler, Gauss, Hilbert, and Weierstrass—who played major roles in the historical events described in the first four parts of the work. Excursions in the History of Mathematics was written with several goals in mind: to arouse mathematics teachers’ interest in the history of their subject; to encourage mathematics teachers with at least some knowledge of the history of mathematics to offer courses with a strong historical component; and to provide an historical perspective on a number of basic topics taught in mathematics courses.

Full Product Details

Author:   Israel Kleiner
Publisher:   Birkhauser Boston Inc
Imprint:   Birkhauser Boston Inc
Edition:   2012
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.723kg
ISBN:  

9780817682675

ISBN 10:   0817682678
Pages:   347
Publication Date:   01 December 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

A. Number Theory.- 1. Highlights in the History of Number Theory: 1700 BC - 2008.- 2. Fermat: The Founder of Modern Number Theory.- 3. Fermat's Last Theorem: From Fermat to Wiles.- B. Calculus/Analysis.- 4. A History of the Infinitely Small and the Infinitely Large in Calculus, with Remarks for the Teacher.- 5. A Brief History of the Function Concept.- 6. More on the History of Functions, Including Remarks on Teaching.- C. Proof.- 7. Highlights in the Practice of Proof: 1600 BC - 2009.- 8. Paradoxes: What are they Good for?.- 9. Principle of Continuity: 16th - 19th centuries.- 10. Proof: A Many-Splendored Thing.- D. Courses Inspired by History.- 11. Numbers as a Source of Mathematical Ideas.- 12. History of Complex Numbers, with a Moral for Teachers.- 13. A History-of-Mathematics Course for Teachers, Based on Great Quotations.- 14. Famous Problems in Mathematics.- E. Brief Biographies of Selected Mathematicians.- 15. The Biographies.- Index.

Reviews

From the reviews: The book under review was written with two main goals in mind: (1) to arose mathematics teachers' interest in the history of mathematics, and (2) to encourage mathematics teachers with at least some knowledge of the history of mathematics to offer courses with a strong historical component. ... The book can serve teachers of mathematics as well as mathematicians who want to get to know historical background of their subjects. It can be also useful to those teaching or studying the history of mathematics. (Roman Murawski, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1230, 2012)

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