Bite-sized History of Mathematics

Summary: Mathematics has been done in particular times and places for thousands of years. Behind the theorems, equations, techniques and applications taught in the lecture room is a history of false starts, astonishing breakthroughs, remarkable personalities, fruitful collaborations, misattribution of credit, and disputes over who discovered what first. A series of stories, in fact. The materials aim to give students some of the history which lies behind a selection of the famous names and equations in mathematics. Each topic comprises a 'stand alone' two page pdf suitable to be 'dropped' into lecture notes and an accompanying mp3 file based on the pdf. This podcast provides the mp3 files and the pdf documents can be found on the website http://www.infj.ulst.ac.uk/~mmccart/hom.htm These materials are freely available for educational use. We would like to hear from any tutors or students who use these resources - please tell us how you use them and how far they meet your needs.