Second Annual Huxley Lecture on the History of Mathematics

Second Annual Huxley Lecture on the History of Mathematics

Monday 24 April 2017 - 17.15
Renehan Hall, South Campus, Maynooth University. Co. Kildare, Ireland

!7:15  Guided Tour of old Mathematical Texts in the Russell Library

18:00  Professor Annette Imhausen: (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)   'Mathematics and "Mathematicians“ in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt has not only left us with spectacular monumental buildings but also with about half a dozen mathematical texts mostly dating from the Middle Kingdom (when royal tombs were still built in the form of pyramids). These texts indicate the techniques that were used to handle numeric data, but they also illustrate the context in which mathematical concepts and techniques were developed.

In my lecture, I shall present examples of Egyptian mathematical texts and describe their characteristic features. Furthermore, I will describe how, in various periods, the individuals who practiced mathematics evaluated themselves and their knowledge within the Egyptian culture.

 

For further information, click the link below.