It’s Going to Happen Anyway

Ben Fusaro

A chapter in New Directions in Two-Year College Mathematics, 1985, pp 205-223 from Springer

Abstract: Summary The first electronic digital computer was invented 42 years ago by a math and physics teacher who was motivated by the wish to solve a system of equations arising from a problem in science. The Bourbaki movement came to life a few years later, motivated by the wish to emphasize the logical and structural aspects of mathematics. Mathematicians were captivated by Bourbaki, but were not so taken by the computer. Yet, the computer began a transformation of society that the microcomputer will accelerate. Mathematics has been affected by the computer revolution, and will go through profound changes. Mathematicians can continue to engage in timid or delayed interaction, or they can take leadership roles. A historical and philosophical sketch is used here to suggest a conceptual framework for an emerging symbiosis of mathematics and the microcomputer. Two-year colleges have been typically more able than four-year colleges or universities to strike out in new directions. Here is a golden oppurtunity for two-year college math (science) departments to put this flexibility to good use, to go beyond responding to a current need.

Keywords: Friendly Business; Computer Revolution; Electronic Digital Computer; Apply Linear Algebra; Math Science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1985
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-1-4612-5116-3_11

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9781461251163

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-5116-3_11

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().