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Full-Text Articles in Mathematics

Foundational Mathematical Beliefs And Ethics In Mathematical Practice And Education, Richard Spindler Jul 2022

Foundational Mathematical Beliefs And Ethics In Mathematical Practice And Education, Richard Spindler

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Foundational philosophical beliefs about mathematics in the mathematical community may have an unappreciated yet profound impact on ethics in mathematical practice and mathematics education, which also affects practice. A philosophical and historical basis of the dominant platonic and formalist views of mathematics are described and evaluated, after which an alternative evidence-based foundation for mathematical thought is outlined. The dualistic nature of the platonic view based on intuition is then compared to parallel historical developments of universalizing ethics in Western thought. These background ideas set the stage for a discussion of the impact of traditional mathematical beliefs on ethics in the …


Ethics And Mathematics – Some Observations Fifty Years Later, Gregor Nickel Jul 2022

Ethics And Mathematics – Some Observations Fifty Years Later, Gregor Nickel

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Almost exactly fifty years ago, Friedrich Kambartel, in his classic essay “Ethics and Mathematics,” did pioneering work in an intellectual environment that almost self-evidently assumed a strict separation of the two fields. In our first section we summarize and discuss that classical paper. The following two sections are devoted to complement and contrast Kambartel’s picture. In particular, the second section is devoted to ethical aspects of the indirect and direct mathematization of modern societies. The final section gives a short categorization of various philosophical positions with respect to the rationality of ethics and the mutual relation between ethics and mathematics.


Connecting Ancient Philosophers’ Math Theory To Modern Fractal Mathematics, Colin Mccormack Jul 2020

Connecting Ancient Philosophers’ Math Theory To Modern Fractal Mathematics, Colin Mccormack

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.


Engaging The Paradoxical: Zeno's Paradoxes In Three Works Of Interactive Fiction, Michael Z. Spivey Jan 2020

Engaging The Paradoxical: Zeno's Paradoxes In Three Works Of Interactive Fiction, Michael Z. Spivey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

For over two millennia thinkers have wrestled with Zeno's paradoxes on space, time, motion, and the nature of infinity. In this article we compare and contrast representations of Zeno's paradoxes in three works of interactive fiction, Beyond Zork, The Chinese Room, and A Beauty Cold and Austere. Each of these works incorporates one of Zeno's paradoxes as part of a puzzle that the player must solve in order to advance and ultimately complete the story. As such, the reader must engage more deeply with the paradoxes than he or she would in a static work of fiction. …


Symmetry And Measuring: Ways To Teach The Foundations Of Mathematics Inspired By Yupiaq Elders, Jerry Lipka, Barbara Adams, Monica Wong, David Koester, Karen Francois Jan 2019

Symmetry And Measuring: Ways To Teach The Foundations Of Mathematics Inspired By Yupiaq Elders, Jerry Lipka, Barbara Adams, Monica Wong, David Koester, Karen Francois

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Evident in human prehistory and across immense cultural variation in human activities, symmetry has been perceived and utilized as an integrative and guiding principle. In our long-term collaborative work with Indigenous Knowledge holders, particularly Yupiaq Eskimos of Alaska and Carolinian Islanders in Micronesia, we were struck by the centrality of symmetry and measuring as a comparison-of-quantities, and the practical and conceptual role of qukaq [center] and ayagneq [a place to begin]. They applied fundamental mathematical principles associated with symmetry and measuring in their everyday activities and in making artifacts. Inspired by their example, this paper explores the question: Could symmetry …


From Solvability To Formal Decidability: Revisiting Hilbert’S “Non-Ignorabimus”, Andrea Reichenberger Jan 2019

From Solvability To Formal Decidability: Revisiting Hilbert’S “Non-Ignorabimus”, Andrea Reichenberger

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The topic of this article is Hilbert’s axiom of solvability, that is, his conviction of the solvability of every mathematical problem by means of a finite number of operations. The question of solvability is commonly identified with the decision problem. Given this identification, there is not the slightest doubt that Hilbert’s conviction was falsified by Gödel’s proof and by the negative results for the decision problem. On the other hand, Gödel’s theorems do offer a solution, albeit a negative one, in the form of an impossibility proof. In this sense, Hilbert’s optimism may still be justified. Here I argue that …


Revolution In Ideology: Crafting A Holistic Scientific Dialectic, Nathan Neill May 2017

Revolution In Ideology: Crafting A Holistic Scientific Dialectic, Nathan Neill

Dialogue & Nexus

Ideology drives scientific research far more than is acknowledged. Since science itself is conducted by individuals, each scientist has a biased conception of themselves and their surroundings relative to the rest of the universe, even if it is never explicated. This sense of relation to the greater universe is what defines the ideology of the individual. It is this sense of relation and self that creates the individual, who goes on to investigate the natural world by the scientific method. In this paper I will examine extant scientific ideology, particularly in Western science, and propose changes that could be helpful.


Teaching The Complex Numbers: What History And Philosophy Of Mathematics Suggest, Emily R. Grosholz Jan 2013

Teaching The Complex Numbers: What History And Philosophy Of Mathematics Suggest, Emily R. Grosholz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The narrative about the nineteenth century favored by many philosophers of mathematics strongly influenced by either logic or algebra, is that geometric intuition led real and complex analysis astray until Cauchy and Kronecker in one sense and Dedekind in another guided mathematicians out of the labyrinth through the arithmetization of analysis. Yet the use of geometry in most cases in nineteenth century mathematics was not misleading and was often key to important developments. Thus the geometrization of complex numbers was essential to their acceptance and to the development of complex analysis; geometry provided the canonical examples that led to the …


Prove It!, Kenny W. Moran Jan 2012

Prove It!, Kenny W. Moran

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A dialogue between a mathematics professor, Frank, and his daughter, Sarah, a mathematical savant with a powerful mathematical intuition. Sarah's intuition allows her to stumble into some famous theorems from number theory, but her lack of academic mathematical background makes it difficult for her to understand Frank's insistence on the value of proof and formality.


A Philosophical Examination Of Proofs In Mathematics, Eric Almeida Jan 2007

A Philosophical Examination Of Proofs In Mathematics, Eric Almeida

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.


Tesselland: A Mathematical Oddment, Martin Glover Jan 2004

Tesselland: A Mathematical Oddment, Martin Glover

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Bridging To Infinity, Mike Pinter Jan 2004

Bridging To Infinity, Mike Pinter

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

The author's own experiences as a mathematics student and teacher have influenced how he thinks about the infinite. Author Madeleine L'Engle has also shaped his thinking with her writing. The author offers some thoughts that connect some of L'Engle's writing with his experience.


Man's Cards And God's Dice: A Conceptual Analysis Of Probability For The Advanced Student, Elie Feder Jan 2004

Man's Cards And God's Dice: A Conceptual Analysis Of Probability For The Advanced Student, Elie Feder

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Mathematics, The Liberal Arts, And Slavish Devotions, J. D. Phillips Jan 2004

Mathematics, The Liberal Arts, And Slavish Devotions, J. D. Phillips

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


A Brief Look At Mathematics And Theology, Philip J. Davis Jan 2004

A Brief Look At Mathematics And Theology, Philip J. Davis

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Book Review: Fermat's Enigma By Simon Singh, Matthew Becker Jan 2004

Book Review: Fermat's Enigma By Simon Singh, Matthew Becker

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Base And Subbase In A Number System, Walter S. Sizer Jan 2004

Base And Subbase In A Number System, Walter S. Sizer

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


History Of Mathematics, An Intuitive Approach, Alejandro R. Garciadiego Jun 2002

History Of Mathematics, An Intuitive Approach, Alejandro R. Garciadiego

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

The main goal of this essay is to discuss, informally, an intuitive approach to the history of mathematics as an academic discipline. The initial point of departure includes the analysis of some traditional definitions of the concept of 'history' taken from standard dictionaries. This concise dissection attempts to suggest the complexity of the discipline.


A Brief Look At Mathematics And Theology, Philip J. Davis Jun 2002

A Brief Look At Mathematics And Theology, Philip J. Davis

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Notes On Formal Constructivism, D. Joyner, P. Lejarraga Jun 2002

Notes On Formal Constructivism, D. Joyner, P. Lejarraga

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

Our aim is to sketch some ideas related to how we (as in, we two) think we (as in, we humans) think. "That theory is useless. It isn't even wrong." - Wolfgang Pauli. Our hope in this paper is to provide a theory, admittedly somewhat vague, of how we think about mathematics. We also hope our ideas do not cause the reader to be reminded of Pauli's quote above. These notes were motivated by the interesting book by Changeaux and Connes.


Aphorisms, Lee Goldstein Jun 2002

Aphorisms, Lee Goldstein

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Fivefolded Asymmetrical Hand: A Poetic Essay, S. Robert Wilson Aug 2001

Fivefolded Asymmetrical Hand: A Poetic Essay, S. Robert Wilson

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


What "Is" Mathematics?: In Memoriam Of Gian-Carlo Rota, Gian-Carlo Rota May 2001

What "Is" Mathematics?: In Memoriam Of Gian-Carlo Rota, Gian-Carlo Rota

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Naïve Thoughts On The Paradox Of Gödel, Philip J. Davis May 2001

Naïve Thoughts On The Paradox Of Gödel, Philip J. Davis

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


Hamilton's Icosian Calculus And His Icosian Game, Katye O. Sowell May 2001

Hamilton's Icosian Calculus And His Icosian Game, Katye O. Sowell

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


A Note On The Decimal Numeral System, Shaharir Bin Mohamad Zain May 2001

A Note On The Decimal Numeral System, Shaharir Bin Mohamad Zain

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


What Is The Thing Called “Humanistic Mathematics?”, Tamar Apel Dec 1999

What Is The Thing Called “Humanistic Mathematics?”, Tamar Apel

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


A Reflection On The Word: Remembering The Word “Word” Is Reflexive, Paul Fjelstad, Ivan Ginchev Dec 1999

A Reflection On The Word: Remembering The Word “Word” Is Reflexive, Paul Fjelstad, Ivan Ginchev

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


A Collection Of Ideas On Systems And Their Extensions, Paul Fjelstad Jul 1999

A Collection Of Ideas On Systems And Their Extensions, Paul Fjelstad

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.


An Informal History Of Classical Rhetoric For Mathematicians (Plato And Aristotle), Phillip Keith, Sandra Z. Keith Jul 1999

An Informal History Of Classical Rhetoric For Mathematicians (Plato And Aristotle), Phillip Keith, Sandra Z. Keith

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.