Multifaceted Mathematicians

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Jul 2017

This report attempts to provide an overview of some of the mathematicians who have combined their mathematical knowledge with other academic and non-academic specialities. The various examples given, many of them included in the well-known MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, corroborate the fact that although the idea of the typical polymath has receded with the passage of time, until the end of the Renaissance, most well-known mathematicians were also well-versed in a number of different sciences such as philosophy, astronomy, and physics. We also highlight other, less common combinations of knowledge, in famous mathematicians who were experts in other disciplines or activities of a totally disparate nature.

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Multifaceted Mathematicians

Sepulcre, J. M. "Multifaceted Mathematicians," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics Multifaceted Mathematicians Juan M. Sepulcre 0 Recommended Citation 0 University of Alicante The editorial staff of JHM works hard to make sure the scholarship disseminated in JHM is accurate and upholds professional ethical guidelines. However the views and opinions expressed in each published manuscript belong exclusively to the individual contributor(s). The publisher and the editors do not endorse or accept responsibility for them. See https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/policies.html for more information. Follow this and additional works at; https; //scholarship; claremont; edu/jhm - Cover Page Footnote The author's research was partially supported by Generalitat Valenciana under project GV/2015/035. Department of Mathematics, University of Alicante, Alicante, SPAIN Synopsis This report attempts to provide an overview of some of the mathematicians who have combined their mathematical knowledge with other academic and nonacademic specialities. The various examples given, many of them included in the well-known MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, corroborate the fact that although the idea of the typical polymath has receded with the passage of time, until the end of the Renaissance, most well-known mathematicians were also well-versed in a number of di erent sciences such as philosophy, astronomy, and physics. We also highlight other, less common combinations of knowledge, in famous mathematicians who were experts in other disciplines or activities of a totally disparate nature. Throughout history, mathematics has been used in activities concerned with the immediate environment and material reality of its practitioners. In fact, we can say that this science is basically an exploration of the various complex structures of the universe. Exact sciences constitute the basis for any kind of scienti c and technological development and many disciplines make use of mathematical models to resolve their problems. Furthermore, mathematics has been used as an instrument in the creation of artistic or architectural elements of great beauty and also in the eld of entertainment. It is important to recall that specialising in di erent scienti c elds was not the purpose of the original medieval universities; these were characterised by universal studies. In fact, the separation of arts and sciences did not come about until the 19th century. However, the learning sequence in the original medieval studies partially aligns with its current counterpart; around the 5th century subjects began to be classi ed as trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics) and quadrivium (arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music). Therefore, it is hardly surprising that since antiquity the most erudite and learned scholars were familiar with several branches of knowledge and that, in addition to being known as mathematicians, they were also considered to be philosophers, astronomers, physicists, etc. Here we provide a brief historical report of some of the most famous mathematicians of the past who were also celebrated for their expertise in other disciplines. A Historical Overview Ancient Greece is, perhaps together with the 19th century, the most revolutionary period of the history of mathematics. Numerous important Greek mathematicians and philosophers contributed signi cantly to the development of this branch of knowledge (see Figure 1). Despite the advances in mathematics in previous eras (the Babylonian and Egyptian periods) until the Greeks, mathematics was seen mainly as a practical science: measuring, constructing, counting . . . . However, the Greeks were concerned with re ecting on the nature of mathematical objects, and with making mathematics a rational and structured science with demonstrable properties (see [ 3 ]). The Middle Ages were essentially marked by the erudition of the Arabs and Persians (see Figure 2) who brought new knowledge, developing and expanding the legacy left by the Greeks [ 3 ]. Little by little, during the Early Middle Ages, knowledge and discovery from the Islamic world reached Christian Europe. Moreover, the Classical Period (400-1200) is known as the golden age of Indian mathematics with brilliant results in many areas. One of the major contributions of Indian mathematics was the invention of the zero and the decimal system based on position which reached Europe from India via Arab mathematicians. Chinese mathematicians also made important contributions, a fact often disregarded by many as most Western resources on modern mathematics tend to aggrandize the legacy of the Greeks to the detriment of Indian and Chinese contributions. Unfortunately this report also su ers from the same predicament; most of our references are traditionally Western-centric. In the 14th century, a demand for more precise methods emerged in the West with the search for new materials, development of new technologies, navigationa (...truncated)


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Juan M Sepulcre. Multifaceted Mathematicians, Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 2017, pp. 217-238, Volume 7, Issue 2,