Math 303, History of Mathematics
(5:35-6:50 MW in LA-3)


Office hours for the rest of the semester: 3-5 Fri (12/11), 3:30-5 Mon (12/14), 6-7:30 Tue (12/15).

 Syllabus: Here is the syllabus.

Furlough days: Due to the dramatic cuts to the CSU budget by the state of California–the same cuts that have resulted in a 32% increase to student fees–every CSU faculty is required to take 9 unpaid days off per semester. My furlough days are
Class will not meet, and I will not be available for office hours, phone or email consultation on these days. Please, understand that these are not holidays. The amount of material we are expected to cover has not been changed. This means that you will have to do more work on your own and learn some of the material without my help. It is obviously unreasonable to think that these furloughs will have no effect on your education. I know this and will take it into account when assessing your knowledge. But keep in mind that everything you do not learn, every skill you do not aquire will make you a less desirable employee, other than a less educated individual. It is particularly important that you do not skip class on the days that remain.

Online resources:
 Another highly recommended book: Check out Journey through Genius by William Dunham for a really entertaining account of math history. It's a joy to read and is inexpensive. Get it, read along,  and you'll enjoy the course more.

Homework:

Assigned
 Due date Read
 Exercises
9/9
 9/16
 Lectures 1-3
 1.4, 5, 6ab, 7, 8, 10
9/16
 9/23
 Lectures 4-5
 2.1, 2, 4
3.1, 2, 5a-c
9/23
 9/30
 Lectures 4-5
 4.1, 2, 4, 8
9/30
 10/7
 Lectures 5-6
 4.5, 10
5.1b, 2, 5
10/7
 10/12
 Lecture 6
 Homework holiday. No new exercises. Prepare for the exam.
10/12
 10/19
 Lectures 6-7
 5.3, 6, 7a-c, 10 (Hints: (a) and (d) add 1/n of the distance between the two numbers to the smaller one, (b) add (c) find two such numbers, then use part (a) or (d). In general, the result your proved in 5.5 is useful.)
10/19
 10/26
 Lecture 8
 6.1, 2
7.1, 5, 7
10/26
 11/2
 Lectures 12, 13
 8.7, 8 (Hint: Euclid solved these problems over 2300 years ago, and his solutions are still easy enough to find in books and on the internet), 9acde
11/2
 11/9
 Ch 4 in Journey through Genius
Lectures 12, 13
 Homework holiday. No new exercises. Prepare for the exam.
11/9
 11/16
 Lectures 14, 16
 12.3-5
13.1, 9, 10
11/16
 11/30
 Lectures 15-17
 14.6-8
15.2, 5, 8
11/30
 12/7
 Lectures 26-27
 16.1-3, 6

The problem of the fortnight: The Mathematics Department in San Diego posts a new fun problem periodically.  If you'd like to submit a solution, give it or e-mail it to me, so that I can fax them all together to San Diego. Winners receive prizes.

The Putnam Competition: This is not strictly related to this course. The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition will be held on Sat, Dec 5 this year (it is administered locally at the Calexico campus). The exercises primarily test the ability to construct rigorous mathematical arguments to solve (difficult) unfamiliar problems and not lexical knowledge. If you like proofs and enjoy the challenge of thinking about such problems, I encourage you to sign up for the competition by contacting me by Oct 8. Registration must reach the organizers by Oct 13. Here is an archive of past exercises and solutions.

Exam solutions:
 Educational links:
Math links: The links below lead to sites with encyclopedias of math terms.  You can use them to find definitions, examples, and some theorems.
Some scholarship opportunities for prospective teachers: