Babylonian Algebra

It was extremely interesting reading this piece and learning about how math was done so many years ago prior to there being a standardized algebraic notation. It is fascinating that they were able to solve such complex problems without the developed system we have today. Although I do believe because Babylonian people did not have algebra the tables and their system likely became second nature to them as algebra is for us making it much easier for them to solve problems once the concepts were taught and learnt. 

In table 4.2 we can see different notations that Babylonians used before the development of algebraic notations and we can see how they likely translated words from their daily lives to notate different quantities. This probably helped them relate math to the real world making problems easier to solve and more straight forward. 

I believe it would be quite difficult to solve most math problems without algebra although there may be some areas that would be relatively easy such as graphs as they are extremely visual. Furthermore, graphs are more generalized which makes it easier for some individuals to follow where as algebra is not necessarily generalized as it is more abstract. 

The Crest of the Peacock

The Crest of the Peacock highlights the history of math development and the primary focus on developments of Europeans rather than other groups. It was very interesting to read about "Eurocentric view" and the effects it has had on the history of mathematics and history overall. 

An interesting item I found in the reading was the "Caliph al-Mansur" which was a large library that held manuscripts from a variety of places and was built at Baghdad a Bait al-Hikma the House of Wisdom which was a place to gather for Indian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, and Chinese astronomical traditions. It was interesting to compare how we trade information in the modern day compared to during these times and how much easier it is now. 

Another item I found very interesting was how little we think about what into formulas and theories like Pythagorean theorem and others that took individuals thousands of hours and for many decades to develop and today we have this information readily available at any moment. 

Base 60!

 Speculative phase: 

When initially thinking about why the Babylonian people used base 60, I though of time and 60 seconds, 60 minutes etc. but quickly came to the conclusion that it is unlikely the Babylonian people had an understanding of time to this level of detail. I thought of of how 60 can be divided by 1,2,3,4,5,6 which allows for easy conversions which could be possible.

Today we still use 60 for several things including the most obvious being time including seconds and minutes. It is also common practice to quote car acceleration speeds from 0-60mph which relates back to the division by time making for easy conversions. 

Research phase: 

Although I could not come to a clear conclusion on why Babylonian people used base 60 there are some interesting facts that may lead to why including: base 60 is the smallest integer with the most divisors and furthermore the Pythagorean theorem is based on Babylonian math. 

Response to Integrating history of mathematics in the classroom

I believe the history behind math is a very important topic to understand as it allows students to better understand the differences in math over time and how much more advanced it has become allowing us to benefit greatly from the technology we have today. I also believe that demonstrating how practical and natural math is currently compared to historically will help them understand why its important. It would be best to go over a brief history before and introduction to new topics to give context of where a theory or formula came from in order to give better context on why it's important to learn. 

One item that stood out to me that I can agree with is the fact that many students dislike history and would therefore dislike the history of mathematics and thus math in general. Though I do believe this is true I think it is important to note that a deep dive into math's history may not be necessary but rather quick lessons on the importance or significant events/findings surrounding a formula or theory would be easy enough to include and make a large impact overall. Another item that I agree with is the lack of time and I understand that classroom time is extremely limited and there is a set amount of topics that need to be covered so I am curious if adding in history will require teachers to speed up lessons leaving certain kids behind. 

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