Next: References Mathematical Masterpieces: Teaching with Original Sources Mathematics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 Vita Mathematica: Historical Research and Integration with Teaching R. Calinger (ed.), MAA, Washington, 1996, pp. 257260] Our upper-level university honors course, entitled Great Theorems: The Art of Mathematics To achieve our aims we have selected mathematical masterpieces meeting the following criteria. First, sources must be original in the sense that new mathematics is captured in the words and notation of the inventor. Thus we assemble original works or English translations. When English translations are not available, we and our students read certain works in their original French, German, or Latin. In the case of ancient sources, we must often depend upon restored originals and probe the process of restoration. Texts selected also encompass a breadth of mathematical subjects from antiquity to the twentieth century, and include the work of men and women and of Western and non-Western mathematicians. Finally, our selection provides a broad view of mathematics building upon our students' background, and aims, in some cases, to reveal the development over time of strands of mathematical thought. At present the masterpieces are selected from the following. - ARCHIMEDES:
- The Greek method of exhaustion for computing areas and volumes, pioneered by Eudoxus, reached its pinnacle in the work of Archimedes during the third century BC. A beautiful illustration of this method is Archimedes's determination of the area inside a spiral. [
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