本书作者是世界上最著名的数学史家和教育家之一,他通过本书向读者展示了从古代到近代再到现代数学发展的历史,其中包括数学在东方和西方世界的发展历程。
本书第一版因为其通俗易懂、引人入胜,曾获得美国科学史学会颁发的1995年度Watson Davis奖。本书适合作为高等院校数学专业相关课程的教材,同时也适合对数学史感兴趣的读者阅读。
本书的主要特点
●灵活的组织:本书主要按年代顺序来介绍各地域各时间段数学的发展,而且一直叙述到20世纪。
●天文学:因为天文学的发展与数学有着密切的联系,所以书中包含了丰富的天文学方面的内容。
●全球视野:书中不仅介绍了欧洲数学,而且还包括中国、印度和伊斯兰世界的数学发展。
●典型的习题及部分习题答案:每章都包含很多习题,而且书中还给出了部分习题的答案,通过这些习题读者可以更充分地理解各章的内容。
●附加的教学法:附录中给出了在数学教学中如何使用本书内容的细节。
PREFACE
CHAPTER ONE Egypt and Mesopotamia
1.1 Egypt
1.1.1 Introduction
1.1.2 Number Systems and Computations
1.1.3 Linear Equations and Proportional Reasoning
1.1.4 Geometry
1.2 Mesopotamia
1.2.1 Introduction
1.2.2 Methods of Computation
1.2.3 Geometry
1.2.4 Square Roots and the Pythagorean Theorem
1.2.5 Solving Equations
1.3 Conclusion
Exercises
References
CHAPTER TWO Greek Mathematics to the Time of Euclid
2.1 The Earliest Greek Mathematics
2.1.1 Thales, Pythagoras, and the Pythagoreans
2.1.2 Geometric Problem Solving and the Need for Proof
2.2 Euclid and His Elements
2.2.1 The Pythagorean Theorem and Its Proof
2.2.2 Geometric Algebra
2.2.3 The Pentagon Construction
2.2.4 Ratio, Proportion, and Incommensurability
2.2.5 Number Theory
2.2.6 Incommensurability, Solid Geometry, and the Method
of Exhaustion
Exercises
References
CHAPTER THREE Greek Mathematics from Archimedes to Ptolemy
3.1 Archimedes
3.1.1 The Determination ofrr
3.1.2 Archimedes' Method of Discovery
3.1.3 Sums of Series
3.1.4 Analysis
3.2 Apollonius and the Conic Sections
3.2.1 Conic Sections before Apollonius
3.2.2 Definitions and Basic Properties of the Conics
3.2.3 Asymptotes, Tangents, and Foci
3.2.4 Problem Solving Using Conics
3.3 Ptolemy and Greek Astronomy
3.3.1 Astronomy before Ptolemy
3.3.2 Apollonius and Hipparchus
3.3.3 Ptolemy and His Chord Table
3.3.4 Solving Plane Triangles
3.3.5 Solving Spherical Triangles
Exercises
References
CHAPTER FOUR Greek Mathematics from Diophantus to Hypatia
4.1 Diophantus and the Arithrnetica
4.1.1 Linear and Quadratic Equations
4.1.2 Higher-Degree Equations
4.1.3 The Method of False Position
4.2 Pappus and Analysis
4.3 Hypatia
Exercises
References
CHAPTER FIVE Ancient and Medieval China
5.1 Calculating with Numbers
5.2 Geometry
5.2.1 The Pythagorean Theorem and Surveying
5.2.2 Areas and Volumes
5.3 Solving Equations
5.3.1 Systems of Linear Equations
5.3.2 Polynomial Equations
5.4 The Chinese Remainder Theorem
5.5 Transmission to and from China
Exercises
References
CHAPTER SIX Ancient and Medieval India
6.1 Indian Number Systems and Calculations
6.2 Geometry
6.3 Algebra
6.4 Combinatorics
6.5 Trigonometry
6.6 Transmission to and from India
Exercises
References
CHAPTER SEVEN Mathematics in the Islamic World
7.1 Arithmetic
7.2 Algebra
7.2.1 The Algebra of al-Khwarizmi
7.2.2 The Algebra of Aba Kamil
7.2.3 The Algebra of Polynomials
7.2.4 Induction, Sums of Powers, and the Pascal Triangle
7.2.5 The Solution of Cubic Equations
7.3 Combinatorics
7.3.1 Counting Combinations
7.3.2 Deriving the Combinatorial Formulas
7.4 Geometry
7.4.1 The Parallel Postulate
7.4.2 Volumes and the Method of Exhaustion
7.5 Trigonometry
7.5.1 The Trigonometric Functions
7.5.2 Spherical Trigonometry
7.5.3 Values of Trigonometric Functions
7.6 Transmission of Islamic Mathematics
Exercises
References
CHAPTER EIGHT Mathematics in Medieval Europe
8.1 Geometry
8.1.1 Abraham bar .Hiyya's Treatise on Mensuration
8.1.2 Leonardo of Pisa's Practica geometriae
8.2 Combinatorics
8.2.1 The Work of Abraham ibn Ezra
8.2.2 Leviben Gerson and Induction
8.3 Medieval Algebra
8.3.1 Leonardo of Pisa's Liber abbaci
8.3.2 The Work of Jordanus de Nemore
8.4 The Mathematics of Kinematics
Exercises
References
CHAPTER NINE Mathematics in the Renaissance
9.1 Algebra
9.1.1 The Abacists
9.1.2 Algebra in Northern Europe
9.1.3 The Solution of the Cubic Equation
9.1.4 Bombelli and Complex Numbers
9.1.5 Viete, Algebraic Symbolism, and Analysis
9.2 Geometry and Trigonometry
9.2.1 Art and Perspective
9.2.2 The Conic Sections
9.2.3 Regiomontanus and Trigonometry
9.3 Numerical Calculations
9.3.1 Simon Stevin and Decimal Fractions
9.3.2 Logarithms
9.4 Astronomy and Physigs
9.4.1 Copernicus and the Heliocentric Universe
9.4.2 Johannes Kepler and Elliptical Orbits
9.4.3 Galileo and Kinematics
Exercises
References
CHAPTER TEN Pre. calculus in the Seventeenth Century
10.1 Algebraic Symbolism and the Theory of Equations
10.1.1 William Oughtred and Thomas Harriot
10.1.2 Albert Girard and the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra
10.2 Analytic Geometry
10.2.1 Fermat and the Introduction to Plane and Solid Loci
10.2.2 Descartes and the Geometry
10.2.3 The Work of Jan de Witt
10.3 Elementary Probability
10.3.1 Blaise Pascal and the Beginnings of the Theory of Probability
10.3.2 Christian Huygens and the Earliest Probability Text
10.4 Number Theory
Exercises
References
CHAPTER ELEVEN Calculus in the Seventeenth Century
11.1 Tangents and Extrema
11.1.1 Fermat's Method of Finding Extrema
11.1.2 Descartes and the Method of Normals
11.1.3 Hudde's Algorithm
11.2 Areas and Volumes
11.2.1 Infinitesimals and Indivisibles
11.2.2 Torricelli and the Infinitely Long Solid
11.2.3 Fermat and the Area under Parabolas and Hyperbolas
11.2.4 Wallis and Fractional Exponents
11.2.5 The Area under the Sine Curve and the Rectangular Hyperbola
11.3 Rectification of Curves and the Fundamental Theorem
11.3.1 Van Heuraet and the Rectification of Curves
11.3.2 Gregory and the Fundamental Theorem
11.3.3 Barrow and the Fundamental Theorem
11.4 Isaac Newton
11.4.1 Power Series
11.4.2 Algorithms for Calculating Fluxions and Fluents
11.4.3 The Synthetic Method of Fluxions and Newton's Physics
11.5 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
11.5.1 Sums and Differences
11.5.2 The Differential Triangle and the Transmutation Theorem
11.5.3 The Calculus of Differentials
11.5.4 The Fundamental Theorem and Differential Equations
Exercises
References
CHAPTER TWELVE Analysis in the Eighteenth Century
12.1 Differential Equations
12.1.1 The Brachistochrone Problem
12.1.2 Translating Newton's Synthetic Method of Fluxions into
the Method of Differentials
12.1.3 Differential Equations and the Trigonometric Functions
12.2 The Calculus of Several Variables
12.2.1 The Differential Calculus of Functions of Two Variables
12.2.2 Multiple Integration
12.2.3 Partial Differential Equations: The Wave Equation
12.3 The Textbook Organization of the Calculus
12.3.1 Textbooks in Fluxions
12.3.2 Textbooks in the Differential Calculus
12.3.3 Euler' s Textbooks
12.4 The Foundations of the Calculus
12.4.1 George Berkeley's Criticisms and Maclaurin's Response
12.4.2 Euler and d'Alembert
12.4.3 Lagrange and Power Series
Exercises
References
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN Probability and Statistics in the Eighteenth Century
13.1 Probability
13.1.1 Jakob Bernoulli and the Ars Conjectandi
13.1.2 De Moivre and The Doctrine of Chances
13.2 Applications of Probability to Statistics
13.2.1 Errors in Observations
13.2.2 De Moivre and Annuities
13.2.3 Bayes and Statistical Inference
13.2.4 The Calculations of Laplace
Exercises
References
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN Algebra and Number Theory in the Eighteenth Century
14.1 Systems of Linear Equations
14.2 Polynomial Equations
14.3 Number Theory
14.3.1 Fermat's Last Theorem
14.3.2 Residues
Exercises
References
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Geometry in the Eighteenth Century
15.1 The Parallel Postulate
15.1.1 Saccheri and the Parallel Postulate
15.1.2 Lambert and the Parallel Postulate
15.2 Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces
15.2.1 Euler and Space Curves and Surfaces
15.2.2 The Work of Monge
15.3 Euler and the Beginnings of Topology
Exercises
References
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Algebra and Number Theory in the Nineteenth Century
16.1 Number Theory
16.1.1 Gauss and Congruences
16.1.2 Fermat's Last Theorem and Unique Factorization
16.2 Solving Algebraic Equations
16.2.1 Cyclotomic Equations
16.2.2 The Theory of Permutations
16.2.3 The Unsolvability of the Quintic
16.2.4 The Work of Galois
16.2.5 Jordan and the Theory of Groups of Substitutions
16.3 Groups and Fields -- The Beginning of Structure
16.3.1 Gauss and Quadratic Forms
16.3.2 Kronecker and the Structure of Abelian Groups
16.3.3 Groups of Transformations
16.3.4 Axiomatizafion of the Group Concept
16.3.5 The Concept of a Field
16.4 Matrices and Systems of Linear Equations
16.4.1 Basic Ideas of Matrices
16.4.2 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
16.4.3 Solutions of Systems of Equations
16.4.4 Systems of Linear Inequalities
Exercises
References
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN Analysis in the Nineteenth Century
17.1 Rigor in Analysis
17.1.1 Limits
17.1.2 Continuity
17.1.3 Convergence
17.1.4 Derivatives
17.1.5 Integrals
17.1.6 Fourier Series and the Notion of a Function
17.1.7 The Riemann Integral
17.1.8 Uniform Convergence
17.2 The Arithmetization of Analysis
17.2.1 Dedekind Cuts
17.2.2 Cantor and Fundamental Sequences
17.2.3 The Theory of Sets
17.2.4 Dedekind and Axioms for the Natural Numbers
17.3 Complex Analysis
17.3.1 Geometrical Representation of Complex Numbers
17.3.2 Complex Functions
17.3.3 The Riemann Zeta Function
17.4 Vector Analysis
17.4.1 Surface Integrals and the Divergence Theorem
17.4.2 Stokes's Theorem
Exercises
References
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN Statistics in the Nineteenth Century
18.1 The Method of Least Squares
18.1.1 The Work of Legendre
18.1.2 Gauss and the Derivation of the Method of Least Squares
18.2 Statistics and the Social Sciences
18.3 Statistical Graphs
Exercises
References
CHAPTER
NINETEEN Geometry in the Nineteenth Century
19.1 Non-Euclidean Geometry
19.1.1 Taurinus and Log-Spherical Geometry
19.1.2 The Non-Euclidean Geometry of Lobachevsky and Bolyai
19.1.3 Models of Non-Euclidean Geometry
19.2 Geometry in n Dimensions
19.2.1 Grassmann and the Ausdehnungslehre
19.2.2 Vector Spaces
19.3 Graph Theory and the Four-Color Problem
Exercises
References
CHAPTER TWENTY Aspects of the Twentieth Century
20.1 The Growth of Abstraction
20.1.1 The Axiomatization of Vector Spaces
20.1.2 The Theory of Rings
20.1.3 The Axiomatization of Set Theory
20.2 Major Questions Answered
20.2.1 The Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
20.2.2 The Classification of the Finite Simple Groups
20.2.3 The Proof of the Four-Color Theorem
20.3 Growth of New Fields of Mathematics
20.3.1 The Statistical Revolution
20.3.2 Linear Programming
20.4 Computers and Mathematics
20.4.1 The Prehistory of Computers
20.4.2 Turing and Computability
20.4.3 Von Neumann's Computer
Exercises
References
APPENDIX Using This Textbook in Teaching Mathematics
Courses and Topics
Sample Lesson Ideas for Incorporating History
Time Line
ANSWERS TO SELECTED PROBLEMS
GENERAL REFERENCES IN THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS
INDEX
Victor J.Katz是哥伦比亚特区大学的数学教授, 他领导了涉及众多高校的美国国家科学基金项目“数学史基本原则及其在教学中的应用”
Approach and Guiding Philosophy
In A Call for Change: Recommendations for the Mathematical Preparation of Teachers of Mathematics, the Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) Committee on the Math- ematical Education of Teachers recommends that all prospective teachers of mathematics in schoolsdevelop an appreciation of the contributions made by various cultures to the growth and devel- opment of mathematical ideas; investigate the contributions made by individuals, both female and male, and from a variety of cultures, in the development of ancient, modem, and current mathematical topics; [and] gain an understanding of the historical development of major school mathematics concepts.
According to the MAA, knowledge of the history of mathematics shows students that mathematics is an important human endeavor. Mathematics was not discovered in the polished form seen in our textbooks, but often developed in intuitive and experimental fashion out of a need to solve problems. The actual development of mathematical ideas can be effectively used in exciting and motivating today's students.
My textbook A History of Mathematics: An Introduction grew out of the conviction that not only prospective school teachers of mathematics but also prospective college teachers of mathematics need a background in the history of the subject to teach it more effectively to their students. However, many readers felt that this text was too long. It clearly had far more material than could be reasonably covered in the typical one-semester course in the history of mathematics. Therefore, I have prepared a briefer version, one that allows the instructor to reach twentieth-century topics in mathematics in the course. This text, like the longer version, is designed for junior or senior mathematics majors who intend to teach in college or high school and thus concentrates on the history of those topics typically covered in an undergraduate curriculum or in elementary or high school. Because the history of any given mathematical topic often provides excellent ideas for teaching the topic, there is sufficient detail in each explanation of a concept for the future (or present) teacher of mathematics to develop a classroom lesson or series of lessons based on the concept's history. My hope is that the student and prospective teacher will gain from this book a knowledge of how we got here from there, a knowledge that will provide a deeper understanding of many of the important concepts of mathematics.
Distinguishing Features
Flexible Organization
Although the chief organization of the book is by chronological period, the material is organized topically within each period. The chapter headings reflect this organization. Thus, since many instructors believe that a history course should be taught topically, that is, first covering algebra, then geometry, then analysis, and then probability and statistics, it is very easy to use this text in that manner.
Astronomy and Mathematics
Because the development of astronomy is so intimately connected with the development of mathematics, the book contains substantial material on that subject. Ptolemy's geocentric astronomy is discussed in an early chapter, while the work of Copernicus and that of Kepler in developing the heliocentric theory are covered later on. We also discuss in some detail Newton's synthesis of this material, including his derivations of Kepler's laws, and then some of the "translation" of Newton's geometric ideas into Leibnizian analysis. Non-Western Mathematics
A special effort has been made to consider mathematics developed in parts of the world other than Europe. Thus, there is substantial material on mathematics in China, India, and the Islamic world. The reader will see how certain mathematical ideas have arisen in many places, as people tried to answer similar questions. Topical Exercises Each chapter contains many exercises, some of which are simple computations while others help to fill the gaps in the mathematical arguments presented in the text. There are also some open-ended discussion questions, many of which ask students to think about how they would use historical material in the classroom. (Answers to some of the computational exercises are provided in an appendix.) Even if readers do not attempt many of the exercises, they should at least read them to gain a fuller understanding of the material of the chapter. Additional Pedagogy
Given that a major audience for this text consists of prospective teachers of secondary mathematics, I have provided an appendix giving details on how to use the material of the text in teaching mathematical topics. There is a detailed listing of where the history of the various topics of the secondary curriculum may be found in the text; there are suggestions as to how to organize some of this material for classroom use; and there is a detailed time line which helps to relate the mathematical discoveries to other events happening in the world. Finally, given that students may have difficulty pronouncing the names of some mathematicians, the index has a special feature--a phonetic pronunciation guide. Prerequisites
A working knowledge of one year of calculus is sufficient to understand most of the text. The mathematical prerequisites for some of the later chapters are more demanding, but the titles of the various sections indicate clearly what kind of mathematical knowledge is required.
What Has Been Left Out
Difficult choices had to be made to shorten the text. A comparison of this version with the longer version will show cuts in every section. But because new discoveries are constantly being made in the history of mathematics, this version also has additional material that did not appear earlier, especially relating to the twentieth century. Among the major cuts were the biographical material and the section on ethnomathematics. However,students can easily find biographical material online, especially at the St. Andrews web site: http://www-history, mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians. And Marcia Ascher'stwo books Ethnomathematics: A Multicultural View of Mathematical Ideas (Pacific Grove,Calif.: Brooks/Cole, 1991) and Mathematics Elsewhere (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 2002) provide a wonderful summary of the ethnomathematics of many cultures around the world. Acknowledgments Many people have reviewed sections of the manuscript and have offered suggestions. They include
Richard Davitt, University of Louisville;
Michael J. Kallaher, Washington State University;
Mary Ann McLoughlin, College of Saint Rose;
William Blubaugh, University of Northern Colorado;
Richard W. Carey, University of Kentucky;
Joan Lukas, University of Massachusetts-Boston; and
Christopher A. Terry, Augusta State University.
As always, my wife Phyllis has been very supportive during the preparation of this book. I thank her for her help, both explicit and implicit. In particular, she kept reminding me to keep the needs of the students in mind as I was writing. I owe her much more than I can ever repay.
I also want to thank Bill Hoffman, Greg Tobin, RoseAnne Johnson, and Cindy Cody at Addison Wesley, who worked hard to make this book a reality, as well as Quica Ostrander and Jane Hoover at Lifland et al., Bookmakers for handling the production aspects. I hope that users of this book will continue to send me suggestions for improvement.