Applied Mathematics Commons^™

Georg Cantor And The Battle For Transfinite Set Theory, Joseph Dauben

ACMS Journal 2004

Georg Cantor is well known as the founder of transfinite set theory. Equally celebrated, however, are the obstacles he faced in trying to win acceptance for his seemingly unorthodox views, his acrimonious differences with Leopold Kronecker and his unfortunate but progressively debilitating nervous breakdowns that some authors have linked directly to his many problems with set theory. Above all, Cantor's justification of set theory was all the more urgent because of Kronecker's critical denunciation of Cantor's mathematics. In tracing the evolution of Cantorian set theory, it is necessary to examine the opposition it met, and evaluate the technical, philosophical, psychological, …

Undergraduates, The Right Questions, And Cayley Produce Results, Gary J. Sherman

Mathematical Sciences Technical Reports (MSTR)

During the summers of 1989, 1990, and 1991, eighteen undergraduates participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Rose-Hulman for which the author was the principal investigator. This paper provides some examples of the mathematics discovered during these three summers and discusses the philosophy, environment and process which made these discoveries possible.

A Tale Of Two Mathematicians, Robert Brabenec

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

The goal of this paper is to identify some of the discoveries in mathematics during the period from 1820 to 1875 that have profoundly changed the nature of mathematics. To provide a context for this, the author compares some results of mathematics before the year 1820 with those present after 1875. And to humanize this, the author discusses the details of the life and times of two mathematicians, one who was active before 1820 and one who was active after 1875.

Cantor's Concept Of Infinity: Implications Of Infinity For Contingence, Bruce A. Hedman

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

Georg Cantor (1845-1918) was a devout Lutheran whose explicit Christian beliefs shaped his philosophy of science. Joseph Dauben has traced the impact Cantor's Christian convictions had on the development of transfinite set theory. In this paper I propose to examine how Cantor's transfinite set theory has contributed to an increasingly contingent world view in modern science. The contingence of scientific theories is not just a cautious tentativeness, but arises out of the actual state of the universe itself. The mathematical entities Cantor studied, transfinite numbers, he admitted were fraught with paradoxes. But he believed that they were grounded in a …

Using Mathematica To Teach Calculus, Russell W. Howell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

For the past two years Westmont College has been one of the beta test sites for the calculus reform experiment being conducted at the University of Illinois under the direction of Jerry Uhl. Brown, Porta, and Uhl have created text which is integrated with Mathematica, a very powerful symbol manipulation, graphics, and number crunching software package produced by Wolfram Research, Inc. A preliminary version of this text has just been released [2]. We have used the Illinois materials for an honors course of incoming Freshmen with prior calculus experience. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the curriculum and …

Reviving The Argument From Design: Detecting Design Through Small Probabilities, William A. Dembski

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

How small do probabilities of events have to get before we refuse to attribute those events to chance? Smallness of probability is itself not enough since events with extremely small probability occur all the time. But when such events are also prespecified, it becomes difficult to attribute their occurrence to chance. Typically we search for a causal account of how chance was offset. Lacking such a causal story, however, are we still justified in asserting that an extremely improbable prespecified event was not the result of chance? This question is relevant to such diverse areas as prophecy, miracles, parapsychology, gambling, …

Real Number Representations And The Distribution Of Following Segments, C.R. Rosentrater

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

No abstract provided.

Mathematical And Religious Knowledge In Nineteenth-Century England, Joan Richards

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

No abstract provided.

The Rigorous And The Natural In Eighteenth Century Mathematics, Joan Richards

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

No abstract provided.

Discrete Mathematics Versus Calculus - A Modern Day Extension Of The Formalist-Intuitionist Controversy, Marvin L. Johnson, Ph.D

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

No abstract provided.

Can Mathematical Methods Yield Theological Truth?, Jan De Koning

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

This paper discusses the negative impact mathematical methods in theology can have on the church by looking specifically at Arminius and Voetius, Dutch theologians living in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Both Arminius and Voetius used mathematical methodology, although they came to different conclusions. I think their differences were due to their different worldviews, which in turn were fundamentally influenced by their upbringing. Both theologians, however, made the same mistake with their methodology and the church split because of that mistake.

How Has Christian Theology Furthered Mathematics?, Gene B. Chase

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

In revising my Bibliography of Christianity and Mathematics to include material prior to the 20th century, it is difficult to know what to include and what to exclude, since Christian presuppositions informed much scholarship in a vague, cultural sort of way. This paper is a first cut at attempting to narrow down candidates for that Bibliography by looking for specific ways in which Christian theology has furthered mathematics.

C. S. Lewis, George Macdonald, And Mathematics, David L. Neuhouser

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

This paper examines the influence and role of mathematics and mathematicians in the stories of George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis.

Introduction (1991), Robert Brabenec

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

An Eighth Conference on Mathematics from a Christian Perspective

Table Of Contents (1991), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

An Eighth Conference on Mathematics from a Christian Perspective

Schedule (1991), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1991

An Eighth Conference on Mathematics from a Christian Perspective

Mathematics For Life And Society, Miriam Lipschutz-Yevick

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Simulated Annealing On Np-Complete Problems, Russell W. Howell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

The Random House Dictionary defines anneal as " ... to free (glass, metals, etc.) from internal stress by heating and gradually cooling." In the physical world, impurities are annealed out of a substance by heating it to a high temperature. As it is cooled, its molecular structure gradually settles into a stable "low-energy" configuration. It is important to cool the substance slowly, especially at lower temperatures, so that impurities do not get "frozen" into place. With careful cooling, a low-energy state can eventually be reached. This state may not be the one with the lowest potential energy, where the spins …

The Mathematical Intelligencer, Dmitrii Egorov: Mathematics And Theology In Russia, Charles E. Ford

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

This paper tells the story of Russian mathematician Dmitri Egorov, recounting his faith and contributions to the field of mathematics.

A Course On Mathematics And The Christian Faith, W. David Laverell, Carl J. Sinke

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

The January interim term at Calvin College provides an opportunity for developing and teaching courses outside a normal major program. As a result faculty members are frequently given the interim off to provide time for research and development of new courses. In 1987 we were given such a leave in order to pursue the questions of the relationship between mathematics and the Christian Faith. One result was our presentation at the 1987 Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences conference. Immediately thereafter we began to develop a specific interim course based on our studies. We offered the course during the …

The Bisexual Galton-Watson Branching Process, David M. Hull

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

I would like to present the bisexual Galton-Watson branching process. The word "bisexual" indicates that we will be considering a population of two sexes--which will be designated as the usual male and female. Here is a brief overview of what I would like to cover.

1. The bisexual process motivated: why is it needed?
2. The standard Galton-Watson branching process.
3. The state of affairs regarding two-sex models.
4. The nuts and bolts of the bisexual Galton-Watson branching process (parameters defined and how it works).
5. A review of published bisexual results to date.
6. What is to come?

Newton And Saccheri: Case Studies In The Interplay Of Mathematics And Religion, Tommy Leavelle

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

In the course of this paper I will try to present to you the basic facts and some of the subsequent assessments of the life and work of two mathematicians for whom the interplay of mathematics and religion was influential: Issac Newton and Girolamo Saccheri.

Augustine's Mathematical Realism, Paul J. Zwier

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

After a review of Philip Kitcher's argument against Mathematical Realism, this paper presents the case for Mathematical Realism by looking at the life and writings of Saint Augustine.

Beauty In Mathematics: Some Theological Implications, David L. Neuhouser

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

It may come as a surprise to some that science or mathematics could be considered beautiful, but many prominent sciences and mathematicians from around the world have made such claims. Furthermore, the beauty of mathematics and order of the universe inspired some of the greatest developments in science and mathematics. This paper examines the beauty of mathematics and what scientists and other individuals have said about the subject.

Using Writing In The Mathematics Classroom, Dr. Barbara J. Rose

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.

Mathematics Between The Lines Of Ecclesiates, Donald A. Joesphson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.

Writing Across The Curriculum Using Statistics, Carlos A. Pereira

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.

Written Assignments In College Freshman And Sophomore Mathematics Courses, Jean Alliman

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Modeling In The Classroom, Jefferson Hartzler

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.

The Fourth Dimension And The Theology Of Edwin Abbot Abbott, Thomas F. Banchoff

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1989

No abstract provided.