The Crest of the Peacock
The Crest of the Peacock
Summary
An examination of systems of mathematics other than the Greek and Arabic tradition. Vedic, Islamic, Chinese, Persian and African traditions are covered together with examples of how particular calculations would have been performed.
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The Crest of the Peacock by George Ghevarghese Joseph
Most westerners are unaware of the heritage of non-Western mathematics. This book suggests that humans everywhere have been capable of advanced and innovative mathematical thinking. The Greeks were influenced by the Egyptians and Babylonians; the Arabs made a major creative contribution; and the great civilizations of India and China have a range of successes to their credit. Beginning with the Ishango Bone of central Africa and the Inca quipu of South America, the book continues to the dawn of modern mathematics, questioning familiar assumptions and enlarging the meaning of mathematics.George Gheverghese Joseph was born in Kerala, India. His family moved to Mombasa in Kenya where he did his schooling. He studied at the University of Leicester, the United Kingdom, and then worked for six years in Kenya before pursuing his postgraduate studies at Manchester, the United Kingdom. He has travelled widely, holding university appointments and giving lectures at various universities around the world. He has appeared on radio and television programmes in India, the United States, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom. In January 2000, he helped to organise an International Seminar and Colloquium to commemorate the 1500th year of Aryabhata's famous text, Aryabhateeyam; the seminar was held in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala. In December 2005, he organised an International Workshop at Kovalam which was the culmination of a AHRB-funded Research Project on 'Medieval Kerala Mathematics: The Possibility of Its Transmission to Europe'. In 2008, he gave talks at Loyola University, Chicago, USA and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), reporting on the findings of the AHRB project. He holds joint appointments at the University of Manchester and at the University of Toronto, Canada. He authored the bestseller The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics (1991). His other works include George Joseph: The Life and Times of a Kerala Christian Nationalist (2003), Multicultural Mathematics (1993) and Women at Work: The British Experience (1983).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780140125290 |
| ISBN 10 | 0140125299 |
| Title | The Crest of the Peacock |
| Author | George Ghevarghese Joseph |
| Series | Penguin Mathematics |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Year published | 1990-09-27 |
| Number of pages | 400 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |