Final Essay
is
due in class on
Monday,
April
6th, 2015 (Easter
Monday!)
There
is no Final Examination!
Click here
for a proof I gave in Math 2X03 of Kepler's laws using Newtonian
laws of gravity.
Second round of presentations:
Wednesday,
March 25th: Joann
Rajanayagam
"Mathematics and Genetics"
Monday, March 23rd: Erin Osaka "Keplerian orbits and Newton's laws"
Friday, March 20th: Nicholas
Murphy "The origins of Statistics and
Actuarial Mathematics"
Friday, March 20th: John
Kim "Cardano
and Tartaglia"
Wednesday, March 18th:
Yisell Bravo Clavero and Caroline Abedlmasseh "Infinities"
Monday, March 16th: Darsikan
Anandarajah "Ramanujan"
Monday, March 16th: Michael Dosbaev "Norbert
Wiener"
Friday, March 13th: Savannah Spilotro and Daniel McClory "Mathematics and Architecture"
Wednesday, March 11th: Frank Geronimo "Mathematics of Finance"
Wednesday, March 11th: Marty Hutchinson "Chaos"
Monday, March 9th: Cameron Ryerson: "The Bernoulli's and their Mathematics"
Monday, March 9th: Saleha Bakht "Time
keeping"
Friday, March 6th: Sofia Khaddadine and
Marina Kicic "Probability and
Gambling"
Wednesday, March 4th: Naomi Pullen and Erin
Robinson "Mathematical Magic"
Monday, March 2nd: Barbara Josic
"Leonardo da Vinci, his Art and Mathematics"
Friday, Feb.
27th: Christopher
Litfin "Medieval Logic"
Assignment #4
was
due in class on
Monday,
March
9th, 2015 (extended
to Wednesday, March
11th)
Assignment
#3
was
due in class on
Wednesday,
February
25th, 2015
The rest of the schedule is not fixed yet, since a
number of students missed class on Friday. We will fix the
remaining talks on Monday, right after the break.
Have a good reading week!
On Friday, Feb. 13th, we discussed topics and dates
for the second round of presentations
The second round of presentations will begin after
reading week.
There was a 30-minute Quiz in class on Wednesday,
February 11th
The final presentation:
Monday, Feb. 9th: John
Kim "Pascal"
Students are requested to make up some quiz questions
(true/false or multiple choice) about their presentations
(one question for each student) and give them to me or
send them to me by email by the end of next week (February
6th).
Because of the snow day, I reshuffled the presentations:
Presenters for the week Feb. 2 - 6
Wednesday, Feb. 4th: Yisell Bravo Clavero and Caroline
Abedlmasseh: "Non-Euclidean Geometry"
University is closed today, Monday, February 2nd.
The due date for Assignment
#2
is now Wednesday, February 4th, 2015 (please hand it to me
in class)
Assignment
#2 is due in class (please hand it to me at
the beginning of the lecture period) on Monday,
February 2nd, 2015 (postponed
to Wednesday, February 4th, 2015)
Presenters for the week Jan. 26 - 30
Monday, Jan. 26th: Marty Hutchinson and Frank Geronimo:
"Diophantus"
Wednesday, Jan. 28st: Nicholas Murphy: "Euler"
Students who haven't picked a date and/or
a topic for their presentation (first round) are
requested to do so by Friday, Jan. 23rd (and let me
know!)
Presenters for the week Jan. 19 - 23
Monday, Jan. 19th: Naomi Pullen and Erin Robinson:
"The Golden Ratio"
Wednesday, Jan. 21st: Savannah Spilotro and Daniel
McClory: "The Chinese Remainder Theorem"
Assignment #1 was due in class (please hand it to me at the beginning of the lecture period) on Monday, January 19th, 2015
Presenters for the week Jan. 12 - 16
Monday, Jan. 12th: Erin Osaka "The Displacement
Principle of Archimedes" , Michael Dosbaev "Mayan
Mathematics"
Wednesday, Jan. 14th: Barbara Josic "Ancient
Egyptian Mathematics"
Friday, Jan. 16th: Marina Kicic "The Pythagoreans",
Christopher Litfin "The Three Classical
Construction Problems of Greek Geometry"
This is an inquiry course, where students are responsible for reading the relevant material from the reference books and/or any other resources (freely available on the internet). There will be very few lectures by the instructor and 90% of the lecture periods will be presentations by the students. Attendance is mandatory and will be recorded. This is known as self-directed blended experiential learning. As a "reward" there will be no scheduled written final examination during the examination period. However there will be regular assignments which are based on authentic historical problems (which are not that easy!) and two quizzes (which will be held in class) with questions based on the presentations and the assignments.
We will start with the student presentations on Monday,
January 12th. Students will be asked to sign-up
for presentations during the first lecture on Monday,
January 5th, 2015. Please show up.
During the first week I will outline the flow (logistics) of
the course (and of the history of Mathematics). I will propose
topics for the first round of presentations. I plan to cover
Mathematics from antiquity to the end of the 18th century
before reading week. Students will pick topics and sign up for
the first round of presentations during the first week of the
semester. Of course, students are encouraged to "inquire" on
their own. For starters, have a look at the following
excellent web site at the University of St. Andrews in
Scotland (where Kate and William met)
Course Objective:
This is an inquiry course, where students are expected
to study relevant aspects of the history and development of
important mathematical concepts and ideas in a scientific
and cultural context.
Some reference
books:
Some interesting pages about the history of mathematics on
the internet:
Please let me know if you find other relevant web pages about the history of Mathematics
The dates for the two Quizzes will be announced in class
and on this web page.
You are expected to exhibit
honesty and use ethical behaviour in all aspects of the
learning process. Academic credentials you earn are rooted in
principles of honesty and academic integrity. Academic
dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that
results or could result in unearned academic credit or
advantage. This behaviour can result in serious consequences,
e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a
notation on the transcript (notation reads: Grade of F
assigned for academic dishonesty), and/or suspension or
expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to
understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For
information on the various types of academic dishonesty please
refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
The following
illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism,
e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for
which other credit has been
obtained.
2. Improper
collaboration in group work.
3. Copying
or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
When using the
MSAF, also report your absence to me (the course
instructor M. Min-Oo) within 2 working days by
email (minoo@mcmaster.ca) and contact me in person
to learn what relief may be granted for the work
you have missed, and relevant details such as
revised deadlines, or time and location of a
make-up exam. Please note that the MSAF may not be
used for term work worth 30% or more, nor can it
be used for the final examination.
Please refer to
http://academiccalendars.romcmaster.ca/content.php?catoid=7&navoid=559#Requests_for_Relief_for_Missed_Academic_Term_Work
and
https://www.mcmaster.ca/msaf/index.html
for
the exact rules.
Important
Notice:
The instructor and the university reserve the right to
modify or revise elements of the course during the term.
The university may change the dates and deadlines for any
or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of
modification or revision becomes necessary, reasonable
notice and communication with the students will be given
with explanation and the opportunity to comment on
changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check
their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the
term and to note any changes.
Week 1
(05/01 to 09/01): Introductory lectures
Week 3
(19/01 to 23/01): Presentations
Assignment #1 due on Monday
Week 5
(02/02 to 06/02): Presentations
Assignment #2 due on Monday
Week
9 (02/03 to 06/03): Presentations
Week 11
(16/03 to 20/03): Presentations
Week 13 (30/03
to 03/04):