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Home , Marcus du Sautoy, The Story of Maths

than recalling the technique from memory.” approximation, optimization, use of patterns, Once again, Hardy’s distinction between ‘real’ visualization, representation, reasoning and and ‘trivial’ mathematics comes to proof, making connections, mathematical mind. communication, etc. Indeed, according to the

NCF: Review The best answers we can give to children’s questions above lie in viewing mathematics as a Giving importance to these way of thinking, in the tremendous enrichment processes constitutes the difference A BRIEF REVIEW of “inner resources” it offers. This is not a luxury, between doing mathematics and but a process of realising one’s potential. The swallowing mathematics, between aesthetic dimension of mathematics is often mathematization of thinking and missed in school, and this impoverishes all of us. memorizing formulas, between This dimension is reflected not in the content trivial mathematics and important areas of mathematics, but in the wide range of mathematics, between working processes at work in doing mathematics: formal towards the narrow aims and problem solving, use of heuristics, estimation and addressing the higher aims. SHASHIDHAR If you want a whirlwind tour of the JAGADEESHAN in four hours, where you will be taken to marvellous sites all around the globe, meet historians of mathematics, mathematicians, curators of museums, descendants of famous Critical remarks mathematicians and also learn some mathematics, then you must see the four-part series called The Story of Maths. We cannot end this review without remarking on certain aspects of Hardy’s style. There is much to This series, produced by BBC Four (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ offend in it too. It is a product of its time, and we cannot judge style across 70 years, but it is good to bbcfour) and presented by Professor , aired warn potential readers that it is implicitly sexist and highly Oxbridge-centric. There is a certain air of in October 2008. Prof Sautoy is the Professor misanthropy (“Most people can do nothing at all well”), arrogance (“Is not the position of the ordinary for the Public Understanding of Science, and Professor at applied mathematician a little pathetic?”), and contempt (“the intolerably ugly and incredibly dull school the University of , and is familiar to regular readers of mathematics”). AtRiA: his book Symmetry was reviewed in the March 2014 But Hardy does give us a real glimpse of what pure mathematics is all about, and ultimately, issue. accomplishes what he sets out to do: a justification for doing mathematics. Part I, The Language of the Universe, covers the ancient mathematics of Egypt, Babylonia and Greece. Part II covers mathematics from China, India and the Middle East, and is Reference: called, predictably, The Genius of the East! We return to Europe in Part III (The Frontiers of Space) and Part IV (To and 1. (NCF, PP): Position paper on teaching of mathematics by the National Focus Group, Beyond), with brief sojourns to both Russia and America. National Curriculum Framework – 2005, National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi 2006. http://www.ncert.nic.in/html/focus_group.htm. The series attempts a general sweep of the history of mathematics from its very beginning to the work of the great French mathematician . This is an onerous task, because the body of knowledge that needs to R RAMANUJAM is a researcher in mathematical logic and theoretical computer science at the Institute be covered is vast, and one must avoid gender and ethnic of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. He has an active interest in science and mathematics popularization and education, through his association with the Tamil Nadu Science Forum. He may be contacted at bias. What impressed me the most is that the series avoids [email protected]. Euro-centrism by giving a decent account of contributions from various parts of the globe. The history of math

Keywords: Math resources, history, museums, mathematicians, Marcus du Sautoy

116 At Right Angles | Vol. 6, No. 3, November 2017 At Right Angles | Vol. 6, No. 3, November 2017 117 beyond antiquity ends up being the history are Marcus’s notions of what mathematics is of mathematicians. While we certainly meet and why he finds it beautiful. I don’t know if it many male mathematicians, the series does take was conscious, but the series takes great pains to pains to include women mathematicians like portray Marcus as a dashing man of the world, , Emma Noether and Julia Robinson. who can ride horses, drive fast cars and hold his I felt disappointed that we did not get to meet alcohol. A far cry from the nerdish stereotypical Andrew Wiles who proved Fermat’s last theorem images of mathematicians! (which gets a very cursory mention) or Srinivasa Ramanujan. I liked the fact that even while The series really exploits the power of film as a eulogising some of the greats like Descartes, medium. It is exciting to visit contemporary sites Newton and Gauss, we are not left with any and learn about the ancient mathematics that was illusions about what they were like as human produced there, to see the Fort of Gwalior where beings! zero is inscribed, to enter Newton’s and Leibnitz’s homes, and almost meet , A very strong feature of the series is the encounter the eccentric genius who proved the Poincaré with historians of mathematics, who share how conjecture. Graphics have been used in clever they use resources to make interpretations. It and creative ways to explain rather advanced is fascinating to learn, for example, from Dr mathematical concepts. Eleanor Robson of Cambridge University, about the intricacies of the Mesopotamian tablets I would strongly recommend the series to all that were actually exercises meant for students teachers of mathematics. With students of class of mathematics, and a reinterpretation of what VII and up, the series can be used in a variety of the famous tablet Plimpton 322 reveals about ways: as a very good introduction to the history of Pythagorean triples! As a student of history it is mathematics (with paper and pencil, and frequent also thrilling to be handling classical resources breaks for explanations), to motivate students in (albeit vicariously), like the Rhind papyrus and learning new concepts and to give a flavour of original manuscripts of great mathematicians. how mathematics is done. Mini projects can be undertaken in various topics using the series as a In terms of mathematics itself, the series gives starting point. us a bird’s eye view of the most important mathematical ideas from the number system to I would also recommend it to anyone the . This is done mostly by intellectually curious, because it shows that introducing us to mathematicians and the great mathematics does indeed belong to all human problems they were trying to solve. Interspersed beings, and is a truly universal language.

SHASHIDHAR JAGADEESHAN received his PhD from Syracuse in 1994. He is a teacher of mathematics with a belief that mathematics is a human endeavour; his interest lies in conveying the beauty of mathematics to students and looking for ways of creating environments where children enjoy learning. He may be contacted at [email protected]

118 At Right Angles | Vol. 6, No. 3, November 2017