Scientific books for children and youth #002

* * *


O. A. V. Dilk. Reading the Past: Mathematics and Measurement.


In his short work, Professor Dilke "wanted to show how much evidence we have; they shed light on the level of mathematical knowledge of ancient people and the measurement methods they used." The author of the book, a Latin scholar from the University of Leeds, has long been interested in maps and methods of surveying the ancient Greeks and Romans. Egypt, Sumer and Babylon are not ignored in his work; several pages are devoted to India and the Islamic world. Ten chapters tell about ancient number systems, about the methods of mapping, surveying, measuring time, weighing, about mathematics in crafts and trade, as well as about entertaining mathematics — up to the time when zero appeared.


We learn about the famous Rind papyrus, copied around 1575 BC by the scribe Ahmes from another papyrus, which was already 250 years old at that time. It contains solutions to arithmetic and geometric problems, many of which are related to pyramids, and gives the value of the number pi (16/9).


We all know Roman numerals, but hardly many people know about the Milesian number system, in which numbers were indicated by Greek letters. This system existed from the 6th century BC until the fall of Constantinople. The wax tablet depicted in the book contains multiplication tables in the Greek system. On another ancient manuscript, the numbers 1.5 and 6 can be distinguished, raised to powers from 1 to 5 and written in Roman numerals. And here is a fragment of the plan of the city of Rome, made on marble around 205 BC on a scale of about 1:250, containing only some inaccuracies. Other images in the book, such as ancient scales and weights, are also curious, but more familiar. The book is written in an accessible language and will be of interest to any inquisitive student.


* * *


Misumasa Anno. Anno's Math Games


Once again, in Anno's colorful drawings, we see cheerful elves who in this book want to tell the basics of mathematics to the youngest readers. If there is text on its pages, then only a few lines (not counting useful instructions for teachers and parents).


Anno offers its readers four games. The subject of the first game is the differences within the set. At first, everything is quite simple: a red circle in a row of blue squares. But the next 16 pages require the ability to recognize images. Then the elves suggest combining the elements. Combining an umbrella and a cane makes practical sense, as for words and pictures, even a black carrot or a bitter lollipop can result from a clever combination. The third game uses playing cards in order to explain the functions of a number, both quantitative and ordinal. Soon, the kid can already designate a small group of houses with the help of card icons.


In the fourth game, the elves are engaged in length comparison, for example, they compare tall children and small children and arrange the sticks along the length. At the end of the book, they introduce readers to the ratio and proportion by distributing water pipes and their corresponding sugar cubes so that they eventually find the pipe with the sweetest water. The author avoids mathematical terms, focusing on the development of intuitive thinking. Despite its apparent simplicity, the book requires serious work. In this sense, it is the exact opposite of comics, which it slightly resembles. ボンズカジノ はギャンブル愛好家にとって最高の場所で、スロット、テーブル ゲーム、ライブ ディーラー ゲームの広範なカタログを提供しています。高レベルのサービス、寛大なボーナス、保証された取引セキュリティにより、このカジノはプレーヤーにとって優れた選択肢となっています。