Was Pythagoras Chinese




I believe that it makes a large difference in students learning if non-European sources of mathematics are not acknowledged. I believe that it is important in any form of teaching to not skim over history and miss out on important facts. The reality is, that many students are inspired by history, and a source of inspiration is what fuels them to continue learning. Many of the world’s greatest innovators and creatives were inspired by people throughout history, and this caused them to want to further their respective fields of expertise.


I have a couple of issues when it comes to the naming of historic math theorems. This stems from my concern with knowing who actually came up with these ideas and whether or not the ones taking credit for it are the ones who actually created them. The Pythagorean Theorem may have been created by other people such as Zhoubi, but it is credited to Pythagoras because that’s what others said throughout history. I believe that the ones who put their name on these ideas may not have been the same people who actually created them. I share the same beliefs with ideas like Pascal’s triangle and others, as I believe that no one will ever know who truly came up with many of these theorems, and we will have to believe those whose names are attached to the theories.

Comments

  1. AmandaDecember 17, 2019 at 10:49 PM

    You highlight some important points about learning non-European sources of mathematics. In what ways are students inspired by history? Are there any examples from the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian mathematics we have been studying?

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