Making Peace with Numbers: Episodes from The History of Mathematics

MEDIA CONTACT: Kristin Schwabauer
Office of College Communications
978.867.4235

WENHAM, MA-Fernando Q. Gouvêa will speak on Making Peace with Numbers: Episodes from the History of Mathematics on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at 4:45 p.m. The event will take place at Gordon College, in room 406 of the Jenks Learning Resource Center.

Gouvêa will give a historical lecture on numbers, discussing how cultures used numbers since the dawn of civilization. According to Gouvêa, ancient Greek geometry was done without numbers. However, when numbers resurfaced and claimed a dominant role, mathematicians realized they didn't quite understand what they were.

Gouvêa is a professor of mathematics at Colby College in Waterville, ME. He received his Ph.D. in 1987 from Harvard University. His areas of expertise include number theory, arithmetic algebraic geometry and the history of mathematics. He is currently the editor of FOCUS, a newsletter for the Mathematical Association of America. He also serves on the editorial board of Revista Brasileira de História da Matemática and is a member of the advisory board of the American Institute of Mathematics.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Stan Reczek in the Division of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Gordon College, at 978.867.4079.

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Gordon College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston's North Shore. The college offers majors in 36 fields and has graduate programs in education and music education. Leading the way in Christian college merit, Gordon is nationally ranked for its excellence in academics and its role in character building. These achievements recognize Gordon as one of the nation's top Christian colleges.

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