Authors:
- Provides a lucid exposition on the history of the mathematical concept of folding starting from the 16th century
- Researches the various ways in which mathematical knowledge was and is marginalized
- Surveys clearly the ways in which mathematical research and mathematical inference procedures were changing during the centuries
Part of the book series: Science Networks. Historical Studies (SNHS, volume 59)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
While it is well known that the Delian problems are impossible to solve with a straightedge and compass – for example, it is impossible to construct a segment whose length is cube root of 2 with these instruments – the discovery of the Italian mathematician Margherita Beloch Piazzolla in 1934 that one can in fact construct a segment of length cube root of 2 with a single paper fold was completely ignored (till the end of the 1980s). This comes as no surprise, since with few exceptions paper folding was seldom considered as a mathematical practice, let alone as a mathematical procedure of inference or proof that could prompt novel mathematical discoveries. A few questions immediately arise: Why did paper folding become a non-instrument? What caused the marginalisation of this technique? And how was the mathematical knowledge, which was nevertheless transmitted and prompted by paper folding, later treated and conceptualised?
Aiming to answer these questions, this volume provides, for the first time, an extensive historical study on the history of folding in mathematics, spanning from the 16th century to the 20th century, and offers a general study on the ways mathematical knowledge is marginalised, disappears, is ignored or becomes obsolete.
In doing so, it makes a valuable contribution to the field of history and philosophy of science, particularly the history and philosophy of mathematics and is highly recommended for anyone interested in these topics.Reviews
“The work offers a wealth of mathematical and historical information on a wide selection of topics that involve folding. … the author provides general readers, as well as historians and mathematicians, with a fascinating, well-researched, richly illustrated, well-referenced, and valuable resource on the history of paper folding and its mathematical aspects.” (James J. Tattersall, Mathematical Reviews, January, 2019)
Authors and Affiliations
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Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Michael Friedman
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: A History of Folding in Mathematics
Book Subtitle: Mathematizing the Margins
Authors: Michael Friedman
Series Title: Science Networks. Historical Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72487-4
Publisher: Birkhäuser Cham
eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-72486-7Published: 06 June 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-10209-8Published: 15 January 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-72487-4Published: 25 May 2018
Series ISSN: 1421-6329
Series E-ISSN: 2296-6080
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 419
Number of Illustrations: 92 b/w illustrations, 42 illustrations in colour
Topics: History of Mathematical Sciences, History of Science, Geometry, Mathematical Logic and Foundations