Mathematical Treasure: Thomas Simpson’s Select exercises for young proficients in the mathematicks

Despite his variety of duties and responsibilities (such as the Ladies’ Diary), Thomas Simpson (1710–1761) saw himself mainly as a teacher of mathematics. In 1752 he published Select Exercises for Young Proficients in Mathematicks, in which he considered some of the important aspects of problem solving in the time period.

Some sample problem sets from the text:

The introduction to Simpson’s discussion of fluxions:

A full digitization of its copy is available from the Wellcome Library.

Index to Mathematical Treasures