The vacillating mathematician

In the first part of this article, the author described the deterministic version of the Vacillating Mathematician. Stochastic generalizations of this idea lead to interesting Markov chain problems.     

Brahmagupta, mathematician par excellence

Brahmagupta holds a unique position in the history of Ancient Indian Mathematics. He contributed such elegant results to Geometry and Number Theory that today’s mathematicians still marvel at their originality. His theorems leading to the calculation of the circumradius of a triangle and the lengths of the diagonals of a cyclic quadrilateral, construction of a rational cyclic quadrilateral and integer solutions to a single second degree equation are certainly the hallmarks of a genius.     

A view of Newton as a mathematician

In this article, we present certain topics such as quadrature of planar regions, introduced prior to the invention of calculus by Newton, and consider his other mathematical contributions, to binomial theorem and infinite series, cubics, theory of equations and imaginary roots. As the development of calculus and its enormous applications are well known, we will not discuss much about it. Earlier, he was in TIFR, Bangalore. His research interests include partial differential equations, homogenization, controllability and control problems, analysis, etc.     

Storying Joanne, 1 an undergraduate mathematician

In this article two different accounts are juxtaposed. In one, we use a variety of texts to narrate the story of Joanne, a woman undergraduate student of mathematics. Like many of our mature students Joanne came to the university with a ‘non‐traditional’ academic background. We describe how Joanne developed as a learner of mathematics and connect this to our ways of working in the undergraduate mathematics classroom. We believe that our pedagogy is unusual outside (some) school classrooms and suggest it allows our students to develop positive ‘disciplinary relationships’. In the other, we grapple with the issues raised by telling other people’s stories especially when we are also characters within it. Our intention has been that, in interweaving these two threads, each helps us understand more about the other.     

Kaun banega crorepati — A million dollars for a mathematician

In this two part article I will attempt to convey the flavour of some current mathematical ideas, aiming at the nonexpert. In Part 1 a little about mathematics and mathematicians is discussed.     

Hans Freudenthal: A mathematician on didactics and curriculum theory

The main ideas in the work of Hans Freudenthal (1905-1990), the Dutch mathematician and mathematics educator, related to curriculum theory and didactics are described. Freudenthal's educational credo, 'mathematics as a human activity', is explored. From this pedagogical point of departure, Freudenthal's criticism of educational research and educational theories is sketched and fleshed out. Freudenthal's approaches to mathematics education, developmental research and curriculum development can be seen as alternatives to the mainstream 'Anglo-Saxon' approaches to curriculum theory.     

Kaun banega crorepati —A million dollars for a mathematician

I will now embark on explaining as best as I can to the nonmathematician what the Poincaré conjecture is all about.     

迎接北京2002年国际数学家大会

1998年 ,国际数学联盟 (ＩＭＵ)在德国德累斯顿召开的代表大会上 ,以压倒多数通过决议 ,下届国际数学家大会 (ＩＣＭ -2 0 0 2 )定于 2 0 0 2年 8月 2 0日至 2 8日在北京召开 ,由中国数学会主办。这是ＩＭＵ首次决定在一个发展中国家召开国际数学家大会。对于我国广大数学工作者和数学教师来说 ,这将是一个盛大的节日。从本期起 ,本刊将特辟“迎接北京 2 0 0 2年国际数学家大会”专栏 ,系统报导大会的有关资料与专稿。国际数学家大会有国际数学“奥运会”之称 ,大会的报告反映了近期数学重大成果与进展 ,大会还颁发有数学诺贝尔奖之称的菲尔…     

Imagining the mathematician: young people talking about popular representations of maths

This paper makes both a critical analysis of some popular cultural texts about mathematics and mathematicians, and explores the ways in which young people deploy the discourses produced in these texts. We argue that there are particular (and sometimes contradictory) meanings and discourses about mathematics that circulate in popular culture, that young people use these as resources in identity making as (non-)mathematicians, negotiating their meaning in ways that are not always predictable, and that their influence on young people is diffuse and nevertheless important. The paper discusses the discourses that prevail in some of the popular cultural images of mathematics and mathematicians that came up in our research. We show how mathematics is represented as a secret language, while mathematicians are often mad, mostly male and almost invariably white. We then explore how young people negotiate these discourses, positioning themselves in relation to mathematics. Here we draw attention to the fact that both those who continue with mathematics after it ceases to be compulsory and those who do not, deploy similar images of mathematics and mathematicians. What is different is how they respond to and negotiate these images.     

Is one proof enough? Travels with a mathematician of the baroque period

It is reasonable to assume that a subject of presumably universal appeal must rely on just one style. In spite of its universality, mathematics employs many styles. In particular, there are many styles of proof. In this paper we present and analyse a number of proofs of a property of the area under an hyperbola due to Gregory of Saint-Vincent, a mathematician of the first half of the seventeenth century. There is a baroque and prolific quality to the architecture of his proofs, and this quality points to a connection between a culture and the discovery of a mathematical theory. An historical perspective shows that, in addition to many styles, the universality of mathematics implies a variety of procedures.This work was carried out during a period as guest professor at the Institut de physique théorique, Université de Louvain.     

The Neophyte,The Natural,The Thinker and The Star

The paper examines the ways in which group work teachers deal with students understanding of the complexities of group work, while they support students acquisition of practice skills with groups. The students' ability to acquire skills in working with groups, and demonstrate them will vary greatly. Principles and techniques used in teaching group work should reflect these variations. Specific and concrete ways that instructors may use to individualize their approaches in teaching and communicating are presented. These principles and techniques also are relevant for teaching other social work practice methods.     

从人名看东西方文化异同

人名是社会的一面镜子,透过人名可以发现不同的社会文化、社会心理以及不同的社会生活变迁的印迹.文章从东西方人名的异同这一角度分析其相应的土壤--东西方文化的异同.     

旅游合同违约责任及其损害赔偿

旅游合同是旅游法的重要组成部分,也是规范迅速发展的旅游业的重要法律制度。由于旅游合同是无名合同,旅游合同违约情形时常发生,本文试从旅游合同违约的几种情况分析违约责任的承担及其责任方式,以促进旅游合同违约责任制度的研究。