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Claremont Colleges

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

2014

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Jhm Contents Word Puzzle, Robert Haas Jul 2014

Jhm Contents Word Puzzle, Robert Haas

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This is a word-search puzzle based on the contents page of the previous (Volume 4 Issue 1-January 2014) issue of the Journal of Humanistic Mathematics.

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The Physicist's Basement, Nora Culik Jul 2014

The Physicist's Basement, Nora Culik

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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The Math Of Achilles, Geoffrey A. Landis Jul 2014

The Math Of Achilles, Geoffrey A. Landis

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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Computational Compulsions, Martin Cohen Jul 2014

Computational Compulsions, Martin Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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The Discipline Of History And The “Modern Consensus In The Historiography Of Mathematics”, Michael N. Fried Jul 2014

The Discipline Of History And The “Modern Consensus In The Historiography Of Mathematics”, Michael N. Fried

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Teachers and students of mathematics often view history of mathematics as just mathematics as they know it, but in another form. This view is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of history of mathematics and the kind of knowledge it attempts to acquire. Unfortunately, it can also lead to a deep sense of disappointment with the history of mathematics itself, and, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the historical nature of mathematics. This kind of misunderstanding and the disappointment following from it--both raised to the level of resentment--run through the paper "A Critique of the Modern Consensus in the Historiography of …

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A Critique Of The Modern Consensus In The Historiography Of Mathematics, Viktor Blåsjö Jul 2014

A Critique Of The Modern Consensus In The Historiography Of Mathematics, Viktor Blåsjö

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The history of mathematics is nowadays practiced primarily by professional historians rather than mathematicians, as was the norm a few decades ago. There is a strong consensus among these historians that the old-fashioned style of history is “obsolete,” and that “the gains in historical understanding are incomparably greater” in the more “historically sensitive” works of today. I maintain that this self-congratulatory attitude is ill-founded, and that the alleged superiority of modern historiographical standards ultimately rests on a dubious redefinition of the purpose of history rather than intrinsic merit.

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Fields In Math And Farming, Susan D'Agostino Jul 2014

Fields In Math And Farming, Susan D'Agostino

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A young woman’s search for a a contemplative, insightful experience leads her from farming to mathematics.

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Joining ``The Mathematician's Delirium To The Poet's Logic'': Mathematical Literature And Literary Mathematics, Rita Capezzi, Christine Kinsey Jul 2014

Joining ``The Mathematician's Delirium To The Poet's Logic'': Mathematical Literature And Literary Mathematics, Rita Capezzi, Christine Kinsey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper describes our team-taught interdisciplinary mathematics and literature course, Mathematical Literature and Literary Mathematics, which invites students to consider Raymond Queneau's challenge: "Why shouldn't one demand a certain effort on the reader's part? Everything is always explained to him. He must eventually tire of being treated with such contempt.'' We study works by Berge, Borges, Calvino, Perec, Queneau, Robbe-Grillet and Stoppard, among others. From a literary critical perspective, the course highlights the play of language rather than the primacy of meaning. We choose texts where mathematical concepts are subjects or structuring elements of the literature, and ideally both. …

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Game Theory Meets The Humanities And Both Win Or Book Review: Game Theory And The Humanities: Bridging Two Worlds, By Steven J. Brams, Karl-Dieter Crisman Jan 2014

Game Theory Meets The Humanities And Both Win Or Book Review: Game Theory And The Humanities: Bridging Two Worlds, By Steven J. Brams, Karl-Dieter Crisman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This review discusses Brams' wide-ranging book Game Theory and the Humanities and gives some basic examples of the methodology and style, including how the Theory of Moves contributes to understanding such games.

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Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations And Study Of The Cicada, Janet E. Barber, Asamoah Nkwanta Jan 2014

Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations And Study Of The Cicada, Janet E. Barber, Asamoah Nkwanta

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Benjamin Banneker, farmer, mathematician, astronomer, and scientist, is known for his mathematical puzzles, ephemeris calculations, almanacs, his wooden clock, land surveying work, and famous letter on human rights. However, as a naturalist, his scientific and systematic observations of the cicadas are less known. In this paper we publicize Banneker’s naturalistic study of the seventeen-year periodic cycle of the cicada and make available the original handwritten document of his observations. We also introduce the audience of this journal to an intriguing natural problem involving prime numbers.

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Improving Equity And Education: Why And How, Patricia Clark Kenschaft Jan 2014

Improving Equity And Education: Why And How, Patricia Clark Kenschaft

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Progress is possible. When I graduated from college, only 5\% of the new U.S. doctorates in mathematics went to women; now it is about 30\%. There is of course room (and need) for more progress. This paper begins with an account of my research about women and black mathematicians. The latter group claimed that racial equality can be achieved only when better elementary school mathematics education is available to all children in this country. That motivated me to lead a seven-year, grant-supported program to work with elementary school teachers and children in nine New Jersey districts, including Newark, Paterson, and …

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An Introduction To Fourier Analysis With Applications To Music, Nathan Lenssen, Deanna Needell Jan 2014

An Introduction To Fourier Analysis With Applications To Music, Nathan Lenssen, Deanna Needell

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In our modern world, we are often faced with problems in which a traditionally analog signal is discretized to enable computer analysis. A fundamental tool used by mathematicians, engineers, and scientists in this context is the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), which allows us to analyze individual frequency components of digital signals. In this paper we develop the discrete Fourier transform from basic calculus, providing the reader with the setup to understand how the DFT can be used to analyze a musical signal for chord structure. By investigating the DFT alongside an application in music processing, we gain an appreciation for …

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Galileo And Aristotle's Wheel, Olympia Nicodemi Jan 2014

Galileo And Aristotle's Wheel, Olympia Nicodemi

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

At the beginning of his last major work, Galileo tackles an old paradox, Aristotle's Wheel, in order to produce a model of the continuum that explains (at least to him) how line segments of different length could be put into a one-to-one correspondence. His argument seems like a playful digression. However, it is precisely this type of a one-to-one correspondence that he needs to support his work on free fall. In this article, we investigate how Galileo's model for the wheel paradox informs his work on free fall. We also examine some of the reasons his results on free fall---results …

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