Mathematics Commons^™

Recent Problems In The Foundationsof Mathematics, Terence H. Perciante

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper examines the foundational crises that have haunted twentieth-century mathematics, beginning with a brief review of the effects generated by Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Bolyai who each developed non-Euclidean parallel axiom. Though of mathematical interest in their own right, the significance of the new geometries was greatly magnified when it was discerned that they could be used to adequately model physical space, even to the extent that Einstein’s theory of relativity later employed as its model a non-Euclidean geometry developed by Riemann. The question that obviously presented itself was how could any given geometry be called true when it and …

The Foundations Of Mathematics And The Mathematics Curriculum, Bayard Baylis

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

In teaching the foundations of mathematics within the framework of a Christian college, and particularly that of a Christian liberal arts college, there are two groups of students which must be served. The first consisted of the non-mathematics majors—those non-scientifically oriented “general anything” students who, as a catalog might put it, are to receive “an introduction to and an appreciation of the history, foundations, culture and applications of mathematics.” The second group consists of the mathematics majors, and the few science majors who have not been frightened away by the calculus. The gulf between these two groups is sufficiently large, …

A Brief Introduction To Gödel’S Theorems, Michael Detlefsen

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Gödel’s two famous incompleteness theorems are results that have come up a number of times in the discussions at the 1977 ACMS conference. This paper provides a brief and relatively non-technical statement on these results and of their significance for the foundations of mathematics.

Current Work On Mathematical Truth, Michael Detlefsen

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

The overall aim of this paper is to serve as an introduction to the work currently being done on the topic of mathematical truth. It provides an overview of the major developments concerning mathematical truth and also evaluates those developments as potential contributions to mathematician’s understanding of the subject.

Recent Parallels Between The Philosophy Of Science And Mathematics, Joseph Spradley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Following World War I European philosophy of science formed an alliance with mathematics culminating in an attitude of certainty and autonomy that rejected all non empirical claims to truth and purported to make all science presupposition less. The rise and fall of logical positivism has been one of the major themes of of twentieth century thought and illustrates the danger of placing too much emphasis on science and mathematics as an ideal for all knowledge. The restriction of rational inquiry to the modes of scientific verification and the processes of mathematical logic was far too confining for the containment of …

Formalizing The Liar Paradox, Frank Meyer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

God: All Sufficient Or Infinite, Thomas E. Iverson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Getting Their Interest - Initiating Students Into The Study Of Foundational Issues In Mathematics, Harold Heie

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Wanted: Christian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Mathematics, Arthur F. Holmes

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

This paper describes the three types of theory about universals, beginning in each case with a classical historical formulation and moving to its restatement in recent analytic philosophy. It will then suggest ways in which Christian perspectives bear on theories of universals and so on mathematics.

A Christian Point Of View, A. Wayne Roberts

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

Does the fact that you are a Christian affect the way that you teach mathematics? This paper seeks to answer the question, what contributions can a mathematics teacher in a Christian school make to the distinctive purpose of such a school?

Of Men, Models, And Mathematics, Charles Hatfield

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Skolem’S Paradox And The Predestination/Free-Will Discussion, Gene B. Chase

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

The purpose of this paper is to show that both sides of the predestination/free-will discussion are admissible in a way that is more profound than simply the wave-particle duality of light. In wave-particle duality there are two competing physical models of reality which are contradictory. This paper will show that not a contradiction but a difference in viewpoint is the fundamental issue in the discussion of predestination and free will. A discussion of Skolem’s paradox is helpful in this demonstration.

Introduction (1977), Robert Brabenec

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (1977), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 1977

No abstract provided.

Epistemology To Ontology, Charles R. Hampton

ACMS Journal 2004

This paper argues for mathematicians thinking about the philosophy of math, especially Christians. It briefly sketches the limitations of formalism, intuitionism, and logicism and uses Christian concept of creation to argue that one can take the best of each of these philosophies and avoid the pitfalls. It also argues for the real existence of mathematical objects apart from the human mind.

Recent Problems In The Foundations Of Mathematics, Terence H. Perciante

ACMS Journal 2004

This paper examines the foundational crises that have haunted twentieth-century mathematics, beginning with a brief review of the effects generated by Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Bolyai who each developed non-Euclidean parallel axiom. Though of mathematical interest in their own right, the significance of the new geometries was greatly magnified when it was discerned that they could be used to adequately model physical space, even to the extent that Einstein’s theory of relativity later employed as its model a non-Euclidean geometry developed by Riemann. The question that obviously presented itself was how could any given geometry be called true when it and …

Recent Parallels Between The Philosophy Of Science And Mathematics, Joseph Spradley

ACMS Journal 2004

Following World War I European philosophy of science formed an alliance with mathematics culminating in an attitude of certainty and autonomy that rejected all non empirical claims to truth and purported to make all science presupposition less. The rise and fall of logical positivism has been one of the major themes of of twentieth century thought and illustrates the danger of placing too much emphasis on science and mathematics as an ideal for all knowledge. The restriction of rational inquiry to the modes of scientific verification and the processes of mathematical logic was far too confining for the containment of …

Finite Topologies And Boolean Matrices, Jon Michael Kelley

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Mathematics at Morehead State University by Jon Michael Kelley in July of 1974.

The Effect Of An Administration Of Audio-Visual Aids On The Attitudes Of Geometry Students Toward Mathematics, Kirk Quistorff

All Master's Theses

This paper presents an experiment to determine the effect of an administration of audio-visual aids on the attitudes of geometry students. It was hypothesized that the experimental group would make a significant improvement in their attitude toward mathematics. The control group had eight-two students and the experimental group had forty-six students. In the control class no audio-visual aids other than the overhead projector were used. The results did not verify the hypothesis and the author concluded that more research was needed.

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Worksheets And Manipulative Games Used In Seventh-Grade Mathematics As Methods Of Drill On The Four Basic Operations With Whole Numbers And Fractions, Richard Lee Capps

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was conducted in the fall of 1971 at Nell McGowen Junior High School, Knoxville, Iowa. The subjects of the study were 146 seventh-grade mathematics students. The students were ability grouped by the principal. No attempt was made to keep a constant sex ratio. The problem of this study was the comparison of two methods of drill on the four basic operations with whole numbers and fractions. The methods were games and worksheets. An analysis of covariance design was used to analyze the data. Achievement and attitude pre-test scores were covariates. Achievement and attitude post-test scores were dependent variables. …

A Comparative Investigation Of The Effects Of Frequent Testing Upon Achievement In Secondary Advanced Algebra, John Thomas Fullerton

All Master's Theses

Relatively speaking, few studies have concerned themselves with the problem of frequent testing, and as Keys pointed out, empirical evidence, uncomplicated by differences in the amount of testing material employed, on the effects of frequent testing is, at best, scarce (14:427). Also many studies used tests and test results for direct instruction, thus introducing additional variables. Furthermore, the choice of subjects and disciplines has been limited, the better part being taken from college psychology and sociology classes or high school science classes. This investigation was not an attempt to modify previous experiments, nor was it an attempt to identify which …

A Comparative Study Of Business Arithmetic Students: The Use Of Calculators Vs. Manual Computation, Marietta Crawford

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the Business Education Graduate Committee at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Education by Marietta Crawford on May 25, 1970.

An Elementary Mathematics Curriculum Study To Determine If Achievement And Attitude Can Be Influenced By A Textbook Adoption, Elsie M. Railey

All Master's Theses

There is on the market a wide range of contemporary mathematics textbooks available. Textbooks approach mathematics differently and there is a variation in terms of the amount of time allocated to a topic, the development of elementary concepts and laws of arithmetic, and the amount of drill and repetition. The sequential development of the texts follows closely, but the scope and content differ significantly. Specifically, it is the purpose of this study to determine if there is a significant difference between series, as opposed to those in another mathematics series, in the variables of attitude and achievement. The two textbooks …

On The Theory Of Quaternions, Earle David Smith

All Master's Theses

Ordered triplets serve to describe space geometrically just as ordered pairs serve to describe the plane. A multiplication can be defined on pairs consistent with the complex numbers. However, as this paper will show, one cannot define a multiplication on triplets which is consistent with the complex numbers.

Ua66/10/1 Sixty Years Of Math At Western, Robert Bueker

WKU Administration Documents

A brief history of the WKU Mathematics department from 1906-1967.

A Comparison Of Modern And Traditional Approaches To Problem-Solving In Two Sections Of Ninth-Grade General Mathematics, Mary Edith Crist

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to contrast the traditional approach with the modern approach in the teaching of problem-solving in ninth-grade general mathematics.

Linear Programming In High School Mathematics, Vernon Earl Cotter

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

"Modern mathematics," a term associated with experimental and revised programs for the teaching of mathematics, should be interpreted only in part as meaning new subject matter. It is true that modern mathematics is associated with such subject matter as the theory of sets and the revision of the definitions of 'relation' and 'function.' But it also connotes a new spirit, a new method of approach, and a new organization of material and problems. Also it may retain much of the traditional subject matter. Of course the order of presentation may be changed and traditional subject matter bounds may be disregarded …

The Spieker Circle And Certain Related Configurations, Berthola Elmo Lumzy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis, presented to the Department of Mathematics at Xavier University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in 1952, examines the Spieker circle, a circle inscribed in the median triangle of a given triangle, and extends its defining properties to related geometric configurations. Lumzy first establishes a series of analogies between the Spieker circle and the nine-point circle, demonstrating parallel relationships involving radius, center, harmonic conjugates, and homothetic centers relative to the incenter, median point, and Nagel point of a triangle.

The thesis then proves that the Spieker circle is inscribed in two congruent …

The Solution Of Ordinary & Partial Differential Equations In Series, Kenneth Wood

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to compile and discuss some of the methods of solution of both ordinary and partial differential equations, whose solutions are expressible in the form of a series. An exhaustive study is not attempted. A few of the methods of most common occurrence for finding solutions in series are discussed and examples illustrating these methods are presented.

Analysis Of Errors Made By 717 Collge Students In Arithmetic, O.D. Barnes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the greater part of the elementary-school training of the average American child he receives a large amount of instruction and drill in arithmetic. In the high school he suddenly drops arithmetic except as he maintains practices in courses of science or high school mathematics and except as the transactions of every day life involve arithmetic. In college the individual may suddenly find that the amount of arithmetical knowledge required is not small as in physics, chemistry or certain commercial courses. Evidence exists to indicate that students doing poor work in these courses are often found deficient in arithmetic.