A History of Elementary Mathematics, with Hints on Methods of Teaching
;-NRLF I 1 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PEFARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA Engineering Library A HISTORY OF ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO A HISTORY OF ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS WITH HINTS ON METHODS OF TEACHING BY FLORIAN CAJORI, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS IN COLORADO COLLEGE REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 1917 All rights reserved Engineering Library COPYRIGHT, 1896 AND 1917, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped September, 1896. Reprinted August, 1897; March, 1905; October, 1907; August, 1910; February, 1914. Revised and enlarged edition, February, 1917. o ^ PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION "THE education of the child must accord both in mode and arrangement with the education of mankind as consid- ered in other the of historically ; or, words, genesis knowledge in the individual must follow the same course as the genesis of knowledge in the race. To M. Comte we believe society owes the enunciation of this doctrine a doctrine which we may accept without committing ourselves to his theory of 1 the genesis of knowledge, either in its causes or its order." If this principle, held also by Pestalozzi and Froebel, be correct, then it would seem as if the knowledge of the history of a science must be an effectual aid in teaching that science. Be this doctrine true or false, certainly the experience of many instructors establishes the importance 2 of mathematical history in teaching. With the hope of being of some assistance to my fellow-teachers, I have pre- pared this book and have interlined my narrative with occasional remarks and suggestions on methods of teaching.
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