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Isaac Newton: Man, Myth, and Mathematics

by V. Frederick Rickey

Award: George Pólya

Year of Award: 1988

Publication Information: The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5, (1987), pp. 362-389

Summary: A brief outline of the lives and works of Isaac Newton and René Descartes.

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About the Author: (from The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 18, No. 5, (1987)) V. Frederick Rickey received all of his degrees from the University of Notre Dame, earning his Ph.D. in 1968 with a specialization in logic. He then went to Bowling Green State University, where he has remained except for three sabbaticals. He has served as editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic and on the editorial staff of The Philosopher’s Index. Over the years his interests have changed to the history of mathematics, which is now his primary research interest, especially the history of calculus. Currently, he is Chair of the Americas Section of the International Study Group for History and Pedagogy of Mathematics, a group which encourages teachers at all levels to use the history of mathematics in the classroom to motivate students.

Subject classification(s): Biographies of Mathematicians
Publication Date: 
Sunday, July 20, 2008