This section contains references to books or articles that may be of interest to all those concerned with the history of mathematics. Please send details with complete bibliographic information to the editor for inclusion in future issues.
The scribble was a chance encounter with one of the greatest scientific minds the world has known. Hidden underneath a crease in the spine of a page of an old prayer book, someone had - in between words in Greek - drawn a small circle with a dot in the centre, in ink now invisible to the naked eye. From the context of the sentence it was clear that it was shorthand for kuklos, Greek for circle. As the scientists stared at a photograph of the page taken under ultraviolet light, they knew that a little piece of history was in the making. It was, they realised, the Archimedean symbol for a circle - which had never been seen or been known about in modern times. As they looked closer still, they began to see more that intrigued them. But it would take many more painstaking days before the full significance of their discoveries was understood.
So starts the article in The Sunday Times Magazine of 17 June 2001.
This report by William Peakin mentions that Archimedes laid the foundations of modern science and mathematics. But some of the ancient Greek's greatest writings were believed to have been destroyed. Now, scientists are miraculously recovering the works - and eureka! They add up to an amazing revelation.
To see the full article go to
www.sunday-times.co.uk/cgi-bin/BackIssue?
and select the back issue of the magazine for 17 June 2001
Peter Ransom
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