Holy Cross Mathematics and Computer Science
MONT 104Q
Mathematical Journeys: From Known to Unknown
Note: All information on this page is still under development and subject to change.
Syllabus, day-by-day schedule, and CHQ cluster events
-
Course syllabus (.pdf)
- Detailed course
schedule
- Core Human Questions Cluster Common Events
- Tuesday 9/15 -- Panel discussion on the Odyssey, 9:00pm, Hanselman social room -- Note time change
- Thursday 10/29 -- Showing of Something Wild, 7:00, Seelos Theater
- Wednesday 11/11 -- Troika Ranch: SWARM, 9:00pm, Fenwick Theater --
Note time change
- Thursday 12/3 -- Showing of Tracks, 7:00pm, Seelos Theater
Powerpoint presentations
Other course materials
On-line versions of Euclid's Elements
-
The Elements
of Euclid in English translation, with mathematical commentary (from David Joyce's web site at
Clark University ``across town'')
-
The Elements
of Euclid in English translation, with Greek text and facsimile of a Greek manuscript from about 888 CE in Bodleian Library at Oxford University (U.K.) (from the Clay Mathematics Institute)
- The Elements of Euclid,
in English translation by Sir Thomas L.Heath and linked Greek text (Perseus Project)
- Note: the mathematical
contents of these on-line versions of Euclid are essentially equivalent. So you may
use any one of them. I highly recommend you at least take a look at the second one, though, because
you can see what a hand-written copy from the Middle Ages of this text in the original
Greek looks like. (Note that Euclid lived
about 300 BCE -- that is, about 1200 years before this manuscript was produced!)
Assignments
- First paper assignment (.pdf), due by email to jlittle@holycross.edu,
no later than 5:00pm on Friday, September 18 -- Note: Your work on this assignment, and on another assignment in the spring semester, will be passed on to the Montserrat office and used in an ongoing study of the effect of the
Montserrat program on student writing (in addition to its use as an assessment in this course).
- Group discussion exercise on two proofs from A Mathematician's Apology,
one writeup from each group, due in class Wednesday, September 23. (You can hand-write or type your responses
as you prefer.)
- Oral presentations on propositions from Book I of the Elements.
These are assigned for Monday, October 5 and Wednesday, October 7.
- Second paper assignment (.pdf), due by email to
jlittle@holycross.edu, no later than 5:00pm on Monday, October 26.
- Third paper assignment (.pdf), due by email to
jlittle@holycross.edu, no later than 5:00pm on Friday, December 11.
Information and announcements
Other Related Items
- A most memorable journey (.pdf)
- Ithaka (.pdf), by C. Cavafy, 1863-1933. (English translation, Edmund Keely and Philip Sherrard)
- Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare (.pdf), by E. St. V. Millay, 1892-1950.
- Various texts
of Euclid's Proposition I.47 and other proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem.
- Note: The Greek phrase appearing next to the heading of this page is one traditional rendering of
the reported inscription over the entrance to Plato's Academy in Athens
(founded about 387 BCE).
It means (roughly)
Let no one ignorant of geometry enter. This is a reflection of the foundational
role of geometry in Plato's ideas about knowledge and education.
Downloading Information
The links for assignments and other handouts shown above with the notation
(.pdf file) lead to documents in PDF format. To read and print these, you
will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This
is available at no cost from Adobe.
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Last modified: December 8, 2015
