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)

• http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/Hist_Topics_alph.html
• http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/HistoryTopics.html
  

Course Description

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:

• "Mathematics and its History" by John Stillwell,  Springer Verlag. (I like this book)
  
• "The History of Mathematics" by David Burton, McGraw-Hill, 4th ed. (This was a textbook that I used a few years ago)
  
• "An Introduction to the History of Mathematics" by Howard Eves, 6th ed. (I actually don't have this book)
  
• "A History of Mathematics" by Carl Boyer,  Princeton University Press.
• "A concise History of Mathematics" by Dirk Struik,  Dover.
• "God created the integers" : edited by Stephen Hawking, Running Press, 2005. (a collection of beautiful original articles by the Masters, translated into English)
  

Some interesting pages about the history of mathematics on the internet:

• http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/
• http://www.math.tamu.edu/%7Edallen/masters/hist_frame.htm 

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.

Other Policy Notes:

MSAF policy:

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.

Calculators: Only the standard McMaster calculator Casio fx 991 can be used for the quizzes..

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.