International Study Group on the Relations Between

HISTORY and PEDAGOGY of MATHEMATICS NEWSLETTER

An Affiliate of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction: No. 50, July 2002

Message from our Chairperson

To the members of HPM,

It is a common use to celebrate an anniversary (in our case the number 50 of the newsletter) in looking at the past and think of what is happened. My choice for celebration is to look at the future and to launch a new section in the newsletter: ‘Research in progress’. This section will contain brief information on research in progress in the field of HPM. It is particularly addressed to young researchers. We invite all our readers to send contributions.

The meeting ‘Understanding Mathematics Through History: the John Fauvel Lecture’ was held in the King William Court, University of Greenwich, London, Saturday 4th May 2002 (BSHM organiser John Earle), with the following program:

Ian Stewart FRS (University of Warwick): Flatland and the Fourth Dimension in Victorian Times

The John Fauvel Lecture: Jan van Maanen (University of Groningen, The Netherlands): History and Mathematics Education: Pictures of a Relationship

From the program we take the following passage which describes the spirit of the initiative. John Fauvel, who died last year, made the meeting possible through a generous bequest. John was passionately committed to the history of mathematics and its value in mathematics education. He believed strongly that reflecting on historical developments in mathematics greatly enhances and deepens understanding, both of mathematics itself and also of related fields, and can be a powerful force for more effective teaching and learning. He worked tirelessly to bring about a greater appreciation of the place of mathematics in our cultural history and its importance as a human activity, both intellectual and practical. These meetings are dedicated to continuing his work in bringing historical aspects of mathematics to the widest audience.

Fulvia Furinghetti

At the end of the John Fauvel Lecture we remembered that John would have taken at least one picture. By that time there were just 23 of us left talking - a prime example of the relationships that formed with John’s help.

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