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2. Why and how people develop mathematics

  • Brian Greer(author)
Chapter of: Breaking Images: Iconoclastic Analyses of Mathematics and its Education(pp. 25–60)
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Title2. Why and how people develop mathematics
ContributorBrian Greer(author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0407.02
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0407/chapters/10.11647/obp.0407.02
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightBrian Greer
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2024-12-11
Long abstract

The development of mathematics by humans has a long and unfinished history. In this, necessarily highly selective, overview, the discussion is framed in terms of the environments – physical, cultural, socio-political, specialised – within which people, including those designated as ‘mathematicians’ do what is called ‘mathematics’ in all its many forms. These forms include the traditional divide between ‘ pure’ and ‘ applied’. A distinction is drawn between internal and external processes driving the development, and within internal drivers between those of creation and those of systematisation. The links between this chapter and Chapter 13 are stressed throughout.

Page rangepp. 25–60
Print length36 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0407/chapters/10.11647/obp.0407.02Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0407.02.pdfFull text URL
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0407/chapters/10.11647/obp.0407.02Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0407/ch2.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
Contributors

Brian Greer

(author)
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5230-1904

Brian Greer began his research on mathematical cognition, before shifting his interest to school mathematics. That evolved to reflect a characterization of mathematics as a human activity embedded in historical, cultural, social and political – in short, human – contexts.

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