I took this math class to go along with a study abroad that I was participating in. This class took place during the Spring semester of my sophomore year, and then we went to Spain a couple weeks after the class ended. The formal name of the class was International Studies in Mathematics History, and so we studied how early civilizations discovered and completed their math.
The people of Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Early Greeks, and Ancient and Medieval China did all of their math by hand because calculators weren’t invented yet. They spent hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months trying to figure out one problem. Sometimes we get caught up in modern life and technology and can’t picture our lives without it. This class helped me take a step back and gain a greater view on the world. We are lucky to be able to have calculators, iPads, social media, etc. to help make our lives easy. From this class, I was truly able to see the progression of math and technology over time and be grateful for all of the tools that we have in modern day to help us in all aspects of our lives.
The picture below is our first take home test. In question 7, we had to find the square root of 5 by hand. Yes, this question could have been completed on a calculator, but I think it doing it by hand physically showed me how much time we save now-a-days with the use of calculators. I am very thankful for everybody who has made contributions to mathematics in order for it to be what it is today and for us to have the technology that we have.
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