What are numbers anyway
Mathematics in the World - HNRS 2221

Instructor(s): Christopher Holden

Course Description

We use numbers every day and take for granted that they can be used to describe the world around us. But what are they really? What kinds of numbers are there? Are irrational numbers just plain crazy? Are imaginary numbers really real? What does it mean to use numbers to describe reality once we get past a few sheep? We tend to take numbers for granted, assuming they are simple. But nothing could be farther from the truth. They are incredible, mysterious and intricate inventions of human ingenuity. And in life, no one kind of number will do it all.

Texts

  • A Brief History of Numbers, by Leo Corry
  • Crest of the Peacock - Non-European roots of mathematics, by George Joseph
  • Number Theory and its History, by Oyestein Ore
  • Numbers and the making of us, by Caleb Everett
  • Additional Online resources

Requirements

  1. Read actively: take notes, work mathematical details with pen and paper, contribute to conversations
  2. Be a real part of what we’re doing together as a group, and take responsibility for it
  3. ~6 quizzes on basic material from readings and math calisthenics
  4. ~6 writing assignments based on math problems, ~2 questions each
  5. Twice this semester teach us a small bit of math or related material: proofs of major theorems, calculation methods, historical context.

About the Instructor(s): Christopher Holden

Chris Holden, originally from ABQ, has been a professor in Honors since 2008. He is a mathematician (PhD, Number Theory, U.Wisconsin-Madison) and his research centers on issues of learning, place and games (not math). He has affiliate appointments in both the Organizational and Information Learning Sciences and the Educational Linguistics programs. He's helped make games about everything from language to history to science in contexts that range from the classroom to museums to the outside world. Learning about games has helped him to recover and understand the central role learning plays in our lives, in and outside school. He is also the Scholars Wing faculty advisor so you can find him in Hokona too where he goes by the moniker Dr. C