Homework on the history of Babylonian word problems

 

These ideas do rely on our familiarity with contemporary algebra because for Babylonians they don’t have a distinct separation of pure and applied mathematics. Their word problems are both practical and theoretical : “many look like real-world problems at first; but as soons as......the complete artificiality of the problems is revealed...has been disconnected from immediate practice” The Babylonian mathematics was based on problems that seemed practical but were actually “’pure’ in substance” They are used to train students in the use of ‘methods at hand’, which are essentially generalization or abstraction of the real world. Mathematicians use abstract methods and concepts to solve real world problems. There is certainly a stronger connection between the practical world and mathematics concepts in the Babylonian era than today. Nowadays there is a distinction between pure and applied mathematics and problems are not all based on real life situations. A part of math is based on pure imagination and logic , or abstraction.  

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  1. Susan Gerofsky2020年11月11日 17:40

    Nice! I like the idea of pure imagination as well as logic being part of contemporary mathematics. Most high school students would associate imagination with the arts, rather than math -- but mathematics takes a lot of imagination, as we know!

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