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Questions tagged [math-history]

Use this tag for questions concerning history of mathematics, historical primacies of results, and evolution of terminology, symbols, and notations. Consider if History of Science and Mathematics Stack Exchange is a better place to ask your question.

The tag is intended to be used for questions concerning the history of mathematics, historical primacies of results, and evolution of specific terminologies, symbols and notations. Please keep in mind that, for pure historical purposes, it may well be a better to ask your question on the dedicated History of Science and Mathematics site instead.

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History of the Concept of a Ring

I am vaguely familiar with the broad strokes of the development of group theory, first when ideas of geometric symmetries were studied in concrete settings without the abstract notion of a group available, and later as it was formalized by Cayley,…
Jamie Banks
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"L'Hôpital's rule" vs. "L'Hospital's rule"?

I know this is not strictly a mathematical question, and I considered putting it on Linguistics SE, but I decided that seeing as this is most probably a mathematical history question, it would be better placed here on math SE. My question is: Why…
Thomas Russell
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What is "Russian-style" mathematics?

I've just stumbled upon Gorodentsev's upcoming textbook 'Algebra I'. The description of it claims that it's very 'Russian-style'. This book is the first volume of an intensive “Russian-style” two-year graduate course in abstract algebra, and…
ClassicEndingMusic
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Why are Darboux integrals called Riemann integrals?

As far as I have seen, the majority of modern introductory real analysis texts introduce Darboux integrals, not Riemann integrals. Indeed, many do not even mention Riemann integrals as they are actually defined (with Riemann sums as opposed to…
Curtis
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History of zero?

I learn't as a kid from my teachers that zero was discovered/invented in india and if you ask anybody here in india, the answer is simple yes it was invented in india. Now we have something to say proudly yeah INDIA invented zero...hmm! after few…
munish
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How would antique math books compare to modern books?

In the past days I've been wondering about math books of the antique, e.g. the well-known Euclid's Elements. I looked at a few pages of the original Euclid's Elements, but of course was not able to understand anything due to the Greek language.…
Fabian Schn.
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Has any error ever been found in Euclid's elements?

Has any error ever been found in Euclid's elements since its publication? Or it is still perfect from the view point of modern mathematics.
Aki
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Hardy / Wright's intro to number theory is highly praised but has no exercises

"An introduction to the theory of numbers, G.H Hardy, E.M. Wright, revised by D.R. Heath-Brown, J.H. Silverman. Originally published 1938. Sixth edition 2008 with a foreword by Andrew Wiles" is AFAIK a highly praised book. - What seems odd to me is…
nilo de roock
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How to evaluate trigonometric functions by pen and paper?

How did people determined the values of trigonometric functions before calculators, like e.g. $\sin 37^\circ$ up to five decimal places? Was that possible to find before series were invented?
curious
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A quote from Arnold

Arnold said the following in a talk on teaching: Jacobi noted, as mathematics' most fascinating property, that in it one and the same function controls both the presentations of a whole number as a sum of four squares and the real movement of a…
h__
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History of Dual Spaces and Linear Functionals

Does anyone know or can anyone give a reference explaining how the concepts of a linear functional and particularly that of a dual space developed? I know Riesz published his famous representation theorem in the first decade of the $1900$s, but did…
echoone
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Full list of Conway's anti-Hilbert questions?

Perhaps several sources, but most notably Wikipedia, list the open question of whether Beggar-my-neighbor (a game introduced to me in the UK as "Draw the Well Dry") terminates as an example of John Conway's "anti-Hilbert problems", but nowhere seems…
May Emerson
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Where did the angle convention originate?

Where did the angle convention (in mathematics) come from? One would imagine that a clockwise direction would be more 'natural' (given sundials & the like, also a magnetic compass dial). Also, given time and direction conventions, one would imagine…
copper.hat
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Documentary of mathematics.

Possible Duplicate: List of Interesting Math Videos/ Documentaries I just watched a documentary of Fermat's last theorem. It is so good. I can feel how mathematician think and get excited. It motivates me to study more and eventually try to…
Link S
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No rigorous proofs from 200 B.C to 1870?

I'm reading: Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times by Kline. My question is about this pasasge: Beyond its achievements in subject matter, the nineteenth century reintroduced rigorous proof. No matter what individual mathematicians…
Kasper
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