Isis 97:678-682 (
2006)
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Abstract
From classical times to the present, stories have been the constant companions of mathematical studies. Though seemingly simple in structure, these tales have both defined and expressed the nature of the mathematics, its relation to the world, and the roles of its practitioners. As popular tales, mathematical stories are shaped by the mores of their time and place, while at the same time they inform abstract and highly technical mathematical practices. Poised between the popular world of storytelling and the rarefied air of advanced mathematics, these stories are a key to relating mathematical practices to their cultural and historical setting. The three essays in this section explore different ways in which stories can be used in historicizing mathematical practices. Focused on the century between 1730 and 1830, they combine to tell the story of Enlightenment mathematics and its transformation in the nineteenth century