Learning objectives
Knowledge, understanding and links among the topics of the Course and the arguments of the other courses, with the aim to furnish an overview of basic Mathematics, also from an epistemological point of view. The course will prepare students to elaborate and apply their original ideas, also by M. Dedò, Trasformazioni geometriche (con un’introduzione al modello di Poincaré), Decibel, Zanichelli, Bologna, 1996.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The Babylonian and Egyptian mathematics.
The Greek mathematics: Thales, Pythagoras and his school, the crisis of
incommensurables. Zeno’s paradoxes.
The three famous problems of Greek antiquity: quadrature of the circle, duplication
of the cube, trisection of angle. Hippocrates and the quadrature of lunula.
Euclide: the “Elements”, commons notions, postulates and axioms, theory of
Paralleles, proportions theory, magnitudes, prime numbers, equivalence in plane
and space. Euclide’s work in modern epistemology.
Archimedes: from the measure of circle to the volume of sphere, the method of
exhaustion.
Apollonius: conic sections.
Numerics systems, their properties in a historical perspective and axiomatizations: natural, integer, rational, real.
Non-Euclidean geometries: hystorical and epistemological aspects, Poincaré’s and
Klein’s models.
The Erlangen program and the transformations geometry: congruence, similarity,
affinity, projectivity.
The problem of foundations of Geometry: the Hilbert’s axioms, indipendence,
coherence, completeness. Different notions of completeness. Dialectic relation between intuition and formalization in the evolution of Analysis and in modern axiomatizations.
Full programme
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Bibliography
F. Speranza, L. Ferrari (2008). Matematiche Complementari. Appunti delle lezioni.
A.A. 1995/96. Marchini C., Pellegrino C., Vighi P. (Eds.). Parma: Servizio Editoriale
Università di Parma.
F. Speranza, Scritti di Epistemologia della Matematica, Pitagora, Bologna, 1997.
E. Agazzi, D. Palladino, Le geometrie non euclidee e i fondamenti della geometria
dal punto di vista elementare, La Scuola Editrice, Brescia, 1998.
C.B.Boyer, Storia della Matematica, Mondadori, Milano, 1980.
M. Dedò, Trasformazioni geometriche (con un’introduzione al modello di Poincaré), Decibel, Zanichelli, Bologna, 1996.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be mainly in transmissive style, but with a steady dialogue with students which can be called to the blackboard for discussing problems, or for showing their understanding of and taking part to the course. Student will be asked to take part to seminar for studying in depth some course topics.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination.
Assessment will be made by a final oral, in which student must solve mathematical or interpretative problems.
Other information
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