Edmond Halley and Apollonius: second-order historical knowledge in mathematics education
In the present paper I look at Edmond Halley’s reconstruction of Book VIII of Apollonius’s Conic as an example of a second-order historical text. Such texts constitute a particular class of original works whose distinction is that they present mathematicians of the past engaging with texts from thei...
Gespeichert in:
Veröffentlicht in: | ZDM 2022-12, Vol.54 (7), p.1435-1447 |
---|---|
1. Verfasser: | |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
Schlagworte: | |
Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
Zusammenfassung: | In the present paper I look at Edmond Halley’s reconstruction of Book VIII of Apollonius’s
Conic
as an example of a second-order historical text. Such texts constitute a particular class of original works whose distinction is that they present mathematicians of the past engaging with texts from their own past, as we do when
we
look at historical material in classrooms. Hence, texts of this kind provide us with an opportunity not so much for gaining a historical understanding of a concept, method, or theorem but for viewing another
reader
of mathematical texts, and, therefore, they provide teachers and students with an opportunity to reflect on themselves as readers. This, in effect, is a matter of reflecting on one’s relationship to the past. In the case of Halley, I characterize his particular relationship as ‘a moderator’ between past and present. But I also stress that his is not the only possible relationship to the mathematical past. The case of Halley, however, serves to bring out some of the alternatives. Bearing in mind this variety of relationships to the past will help teachers give shape to their own reflections and, more importantly, help guide their students’ reflections as readers of historical texts. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1863-9690 1863-9704 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11858-022-01391-1 |