Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Some Thoughts On The Epicurean Critique Of Mathematics, Michael Aristidou

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, we give a comprehensive summary of the discussion on the Epicurean critique of mathematics and in particular of Euclid's geometry. We examine the methodological critique of the Epicureans on mathematics and we assess whether a 'mathematical atomism' was proposed, and its implications. Finally, we examine the Epicurean philosophical stance on mathematics and evaluate whether it was on target or not.

Does Content Matter In An Introduction-To-Proof Course?, Milos Savic

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Introduction-to-proof courses are becoming more prevalent in mathematics departments as more recognize the need to support students while they transition from courses focused on computation (such as calculus) to proof-intensive courses (such as real analysis). In such introduction courses, there are some common proving techniques to teach (induction, contradiction, and contraposition to name a few), but the content varies from institution to institution. This note adds to the discussion on content in such courses by analyzing two prior studies, one using a coding scheme designed to illuminate step-by-step justifications in a proof, and the other focused on interviews with course …

On Commensurability And Symmetry, David Pierce

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Commensurability and symmetry have diverged from a common Greek origin. We review the history of this divergence. In mathematics, symmetry is now a kind of measure that is different from size, though analogous to it. Size being given by numbers, the concept of numbers and their equality comes into play. For Euclid, two magnitudes were symmetric when they had a common measure; also, numbers were magnitudes, commonly represented as bounded straight lines, for which equality was congruence. When Billingsley translated Euclid into English in the sixteenth century, he used the word "commensurable" for Euclid's symmetric magnitudes; but the word had …

The Biblical Value Of Pi In Light Of Traditional Judaism, Morris Engelson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

There are numerous attempts at a solution to the puzzle as to why the Biblical value of pi, as demonstrated by the measurements of King Solomon's pool, is exactly 3 and not a better approximation. This article shows that virtually all such published solutions are deficient because volume-based factors are ignored. Issues respecting the volume of this pool are explained, and some possible solutions of the puzzle are presented.

Perchance To Dream: Art, Mathematics, And Shakespeare, Randall E. Cone

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Visual representation of textual works has often aided in the understanding of sophisticated concepts. In the Digital Age this is particularly true, given the advent of natural language processing, the ubiquity of general programming languages, and the maturation of digital visualization. In this article, we eschew the traditional disciplinary boundaries to view and analyze Shakespeare’s works in various ways. Our point of departure is Hamlet, where we first examine the play as a unity — both graphically and analytically. We then focus on Act III, Scene 1, where we analyze one of the most famous passages in English Literature: …

Front Matter

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Lewis Carroll And Mathematical Ideals Of John Allen Paulos: Review Of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1865) And Through The Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There (1871), Paul H. Grawe

Numeracy

At first blush it may seem that linking the acclaimed achievements of John Allen Paulos and the acclaimed achievements of Lewis Carroll (a.k.a. Oxford mathematics don Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) is merely an exercise in free association. Both are prestigious academic mathematicians. Both have an obvious interest in humor. Both have made it to best-seller lists.

That free association, however, is not the issue here. Instead, the issue is whether John Allen Paulos has highlighted basic questions of mathematical literacy and whether the issues that Paulos highlights do not, in fact, reflect mathematical and artistic concerns of Lewis Carroll in writing …

Notes On Contributors

The Catch

No abstract provided.

The Mackerel Fishermen, Avery B. Stone

The Catch

No abstract provided.

Cormorant, Judy Kaber

The Catch

No abstract provided.

Awakening, Angela M. Waldron

The Catch

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Leonore Hildebrandt

The Catch

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Volume V

The Catch

No abstract provided.

Industrial Education, Community Outreach, And Progressivism In Boston’S North End 1880-1920, Meg Stanley

CrissCross

At the turn of the 20th century, America’s Northeastern cities were expanding, diversifying and industrially progressing at an unprecedented rate. Immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe were flocking to ethnic neighborhoods in search of familiarity in a new land. Boston’s historic North End became an epicenter of ethnic collisions with a growing population of unskilled immigrants and a declining quality of life. Through the chaos, the North Bennet Street Industrial School (NBSIS) emerged as a leading educational institution. The school provided opportunities for education and community involvement, responding to the needs of the struggling neighborhood.

Writing As A Spatiotemporal Concept: Ekphrasis Of Place And The Spatial Turn, Maggie Kennelly

CrissCross

Ever since Lessing wrote his Laocoön many critics have classified painting as a solely spatial art and writing as a solely temporal one. However, in recent years the idea of the spatial turn, of space not fitting into only one category, has sparked new critiques as to what defines art. In this paper, I prove that, by using ekphrasis of place, writing is a spatiotemporal art, meaning it depicts both space and time. This argument is supported by evidence from literary critics, notably Joseph Frank, and pieces of poetry and prose in which ekphrasis of place is used. Through this …

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.

2016 "Meeting Of The Minds" Research Symposium Abstracts

OSR Journal of Student Research

No abstract provided.

Artificial Islands In The South China Sea, Aaron Holmes

OSR Journal of Student Research

The purpose of this study was to understand the value and implications of artificial islands constructed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea. Qualitative analysis was used with the available literature, sources, and treaties of the topics concerned. The paper concludes that the PRC gains many benefits primarily within the realm of energy security and explores what effects they may

The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships: Helen Of Troy In The Poetry Of Atwood And Tufts, Alea Walstrom

OSR Journal of Student Research

This paper considers the transformation of Greek myth over time, how character’s attributes change over time, and ultimately how contemporary poets employ these myths. The myth of focus in the paper is that of Helen of Troy and the depiction of her character throughout the many years and variations of the myth. Her character is then considered in the contemporary feminist poetry of Carol Tufts and Margaret Atwood.

Facilitating Pre-Service Teachers To Learn The Mathematical Practices And Engage English Language Learners, Jim Ewing

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

A methods course attempted to help pre-service teachers facilitate the engagement of English language learners (ELLs) in Mathematical Practices from the Common Core State Standards. When 22 elementary pre-service teachers were taught a mathematics lesson in Spanish, most were unable to make sense of the lesson. This made them more aware of challenges ELLs may face when they attempt to engage in Mathematical Practices. The pre-service teachers developed their own strategies to facilitate ELLs. The findings suggest that pre-service teachers not only better empathized with ELLs after being taught in another language, they also learned Mathematical Practices more deeply.

“Cultures As Toolboxes”: An Introduction To The Special Issue Focused On Stem, Anita L. Bright

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The Journal of Multicultural Affairs welcomes Dr. Anita Bright as a guest editor to lead a special issue on Science, Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM). Dr. Bright centers this special issue around one particularly simple, yet complex question, Is the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics multicultural?

Becoming Women Engineers: Dismantled Notions And Distorted Perspectives, Lisa Zagumny, Holly Garrett Anthony, Sally J. Pardue

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In an investigation of (non-international) undergraduate students’ experiences with their engineering major, we interviewed 10 young women asking questions about their interactions with instructors, academic successes/struggles, and any challenges they felt they had faced as women/girls in engineering. Initial findings echoed those in previous research serving to affirm held notions of interventions that would improve women/girls’ experiences in engineering. In reflecting on the research methods and troubling its design, we realized that we had approached the data with limited perspectives. A new approach to analysis opened up concepts and yielded findings that offer a different course of action for abating …

Dispositions Of First Year Teachers Who Teach Mathematics For Social Justice, Kyndall A. Brown

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

For over 10 years, mathematics educators have sought to use mathematics tasks with social justice contexts to engage students. While student teachers in the UCLA Teacher Education Program (TEP) engage in social justice tasks in their secondary mathematics method classes, very few teachers use these types of tasks with students in the classrooms. The master’s inquiry projects of three TEP students who engaged their students in social justice tasks are analyzed to determine how their backgrounds and positionality influenced their instructional decision making. Results show that personal experiences in the teachers’ lives, as well as a desire to increase motivation …

When Teachers Get It Right: Voices Of Black Girls’ Informal Stem Learning Experiences, Natalie S. King

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This paper is a part of a larger research study exploring the STEM learning experiences of Black girls who participated in an informal STEM program – I AM STEM. Through the process of reflection and co-construction of counterstories, Black girls reclaimed authorship of their lives. They identified three major attributes of teachers who promoted their academic success and engagement in STEM learning as ones who (a) responded to their needs and built a community of learners, (b) interacted with their parents in a professional manner, and (c) encouraged them to think critically and creatively during the lessons. Excerpts of their …

Volume 3, Full Contents

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Tango: A Spanish-Based Programming Language, Ashley M. Zegiestowsky

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

The first part of this article deals with the creation of my own Spanish-based programming language, Tango, using Spanish key words (instead of English key words). The second part relates to the design and implementation of a compiler that follows the grammar rules outlined in the Tango language in order to successfully lexically analyze, parse, semantically analyze, and generate code for Tango. This article begins with a description of the specific goals achieved in the Tango language, an explanation and brief examples of the Tango Grammar, a high-level overview of the compiler design and data structures used, and concludes with …

Table Of Contents

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Front cover, a list of the article contents in this issue, and editorial information.

Hurecord, Vol. 9, No. 1 & 6

The Howard University Record

No abstract provided.

Proceedings (Abstracts) From The 2nd Annual Student Research Symposium “Meeting Of The Minds” And The 27th Annual Csusb Student Research Competition

OSR Journal of Student Research

No abstract provided.

Ichme-5: Fifth International Conference On The History Of Mathematics Education, Jenneke Krüger

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.