THE CREST OF THE PEACOCK

Throughout my education, I have learned extensively about the impact of colonization, particularly how European powers invaded Africa, explored its diverse territories, and extracted vast natural resources primarily for their economic gain. While these narratives often highlight the introduction of Western education and Christianity as positive contributions, I have learnt from this article the progression of the foundations of mathematics, showing that it did not originate in Europe as commonly believed. In fact, it explains that mathematical concepts can be traced back to ancient civilizations, including those of Mesopotamia, China, Pre-Columbian America, Indian Arabs, Egyptians, and Babylonians. The Greeks, renowned for their contributions to mathematics and science, actually drew significant inspiration from the mathematical advancements of Egypt and Mesopotamia. This realization has deepened my understanding of the rich and diverse intellectual heritage that predated European influence.

I  also remember hearing the name Alexandra the Great as a notable king in Macedonia while growing up, but I never knew he was highly instrumental in spreading discoveries in mathematics and Sciences because through his conquests his empire was divided among his generals who established separate dynasty which includes The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt that founded the Library of Alexandria and the Museum used for learning and The Seleucid dynasty that ruled over territories that includes the earlier centers of Mesopotamian civilization as stated in page 7.

Finally, I learnt that the name Algebra was derived from the book  "Hisab al-Jabr w'al-muqabala" (which may be loosely translated as 'Calculation by Restoration and Reduction') written by  Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi in  AD 825. The title of the book refers to the two main operations in solving equations: 'reunion', the transfer of negative terms from one side of the equation to the other, and 'reduction', the merging of like terms on the same side into a single term.

Comments

  1. MaliheSeptember 10, 2025 at 10:59 AM

    Clementina, your reflection shows clear connections between historical events, cultural influences, and mathematical development. I appreciate how you linked colonization and the distortion of history with the rediscovery of mathematics’ deeper roots. You did a great job highlighting both civilizations and individuals (like Alexander the Great and Al-Khwarizmi). For further improvement, you could add a short personal connection — for example, how these realizations might change the way you view or teach mathematics today. That would make your response even more engaging.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
    The Big Idea About the One and Two Pan Scale Puzzle The principle of the two-pan scale is based on the idea of mass equality, whereby the weight on one side must exactly match the weight on the other for the scale to achieve balance. This system is particularly fascinating because it allows for a variety of weights to be represented through combinations of smaller weights, especially when utilizing powers of 3, such as 1 gram, 3 grams, 9 grams, and 27 grams, which measure any number from 1 to 40. The two-pan scale operates using a balanced ternary system, which incorporates three distinct digits: -1, 0, and +1. In this context, 0 signifies that a weight is not used, -1 indicates that the weight is placed on the same side as the item being weighed, and +1 shows that the weight is on the opposite side. This arrangement facilitates efficient calculations and gives room for instinctive calculations. For instance, if a customer asks for 7 grams of herbs, I can explore h...
Read more
During my undergraduate studies, I engaged deeply with courses and literature on the integration of history in education. I strongly believe that introducing the historical context of mathematical concepts in lessons is essential, as it humanizes these often abstract ideas, making them more accessible and relatable. I recall my time teaching mathematics back home, where students would express their frustration with statements like, “I wonder who invented Mathematics?” or “Who is subjecting us to this torment?” It often felt like the subject had a wicked inventor who sought to impose unnecessary challenges on them. However integrating the development of mathematical concepts into my teaching, will help students recognize that these scholars made significant contributions to this field in response to real-life challenges, and they faced struggles similar to their own in the pursuit of knowledge, and when students realize that mathematics didn't simply appear but instead evolved throu...
Read more
Speculative Phase  I believe the Babylonians' selection of 60 as a base system is closely linked to their understanding of time. This is evident in the modern SI unit of time, which is structured as follows:  60 seconds equal 1 minute, and  60 minutes equal 1 hour  This connection suggests that the origins of our current timekeeping system may trace back to Babylonian practices. Furthermore, this base-60 system aligns closely with the number of days in a calendar year, which is typically 365 or 366 days. This is also surprisingly close to 360 degrees, which is connected particularly in the context of Earth’s meridians and lines of latitude and longitude. These lines are instrumental in how humanity has learned to measure time and assess the Earth's position. I firmly believe that the Babylonians were pioneers in developing the time system we utilize today. During our last class on Monday, we explored the fascinating concept of representing fractions in base 60. This ...
Read more