history of math

• Hieroglyphic writing


  For monumental inscriptions
• Hieratic


  Cursive writing, done with a brush and ink on papyrus
• Scribes


  People in ancient Egypt (usually men) who learned to read and write
• Amenhotep, an Egyptian high official, and scribe (fifteenth century BCE)
• Two papyri containing collections of mathematical problems with their solutions: Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, Moscow Mathematical Papyrus
• Unit Fraction


  A fraction of the form 1/n, where n is an integer
• Egyptian Calendar


  Twelve months of thirty days each, plus five feast days
• Sundial


  An instrument that uses the position of the sun to tell the time
• Sexagesimal system


  Base 60 number system
• Pythagorean triples


  (a, b, c) with a^2 + b^2 = c^2
• Babylonian Mathematics was first derived from two tablets containing the square of numbers from 1 to 60 and cubes of numbers from 1 to 32
• The Plimpton 322 clay tablet, with numbers written in cuneiform script
• Eudemus (century B.C.), a member of Aristotle's school wrote histories of arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy (lost)
• Theophrastus (c. 372-c. 287 B.C.) wrote a history of physics (lost)
• Pappus (late cent A.D.) wrote the Mathematical Collection, an account of classical mathematics from Euclid to Ptolemy (extant)
• Proclus (A.D. 410-485) wrote the Commentary, treating Book I of Euclid, and contains quotations due to Eudemus (extant)
• Ionian School


  Founded by THALES for philosophy and the philosophy of science
• Pythagorean School


  Founded by PYTHAGORAS, contributed to philosophy, the study of proportion, plane and solid geometry, number theory, the theory of proof, and the discovery of incommensurables
• Eleatic School


  Led by ZENO, from the city of Elea, known for Zeno's paradoxes
• Platonic School


  Founded by PLATO, members include Menaechmus, Dinostratus, and Theaetetus
• Menaechmus


  Made the whole of geometry more perfect, inventor of the conics
• Plato


  Not a mathematician, but a strong advocate of all of mathematics, believed that the perfect ideals of physical objects are the reality
• Justinian, a Christian emperor, closed the Platonic School because he believed that the teachings were "pagan and perverse learning"
• School of Eudoxus


  Founded by EUDOXUS, developed the theory of proportion, partly to account for and study the incommensurables
• School of Aristotle


  Axioms include the laws of logic, and the law of contradiction. Postulates need not be self-evident, but their truth must be sustained by the results derived from them.
• Thales (Thales of Miletus)


  First known Greek philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, although his occupation was that of an engineer
• Pythagoras (Pythagoras of Samos, Ionia)


  First pure mathematician, known for the Pythagorean theorem and other contributions
• Anaxagoras (Anaxagoras of Clazomenae)


  Applied geometry to the study of astronomy
• Euclid (Euclid of Alexandria)


  Most prominent ancient mathematician, known for the famous work called "The Elements", as well as works on optics and mathematical astronomy
• Plato


  Considered mathematical objects as perfect forms, concentrated on the idea of 'proof' and insisted on accurate definitions and clear hypothesis
• Numbers


  Sankheya (countable), Asankheya (uncountable), Anant (infinite)
• Oracle bone script


  Source of our knowledge of early Chinese number systems
• Confucius


  Most famous philosopher during 6th century BCE
• Zhangjiashan books were discovered near his tomb and mathematics text was written in bamboo strips (Suan shu shu), opened in early 1984
• Suan shu shu


  (Book of Numbers and Computation), is the earliest extant text of Chinese mathematics
• Zhou Bi Suan Jing


  The oldest suspected mathematical text, contains the earliest statement of Pythagoras' Theorem as well as simple rules for computing fractions and conducting arithmetic
• Gou gu


  Other proof of Pythagorean theorem
• Jiuzhang suanshu


  Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, a compendium of all existing Chinese mathematical knowledge up until the third century
• Liu Hui


  Made contributions to mathematics, including accurate estimates of π, made similarly to Archimedes
• Rod Numerals


  The second dominant form of enumeration dating from around 300 BCE, with Zongs for units, 100's, 10000's, etc and Hengs for 10's, 1000's, 100000's, etc