"The history of mathematics may be instructive as well as agreeable ; it may not only remind us of what we have, but may also teach us to increase our store. Says De Morgan, "The early history of the mind of men with regards to mathematics leads us to point out our own errors; and in this respect it is well to pay attention to the history of mathematics." It warns us against hasty conclusions; it points out the importance of a good notation upon the progress of the science; it discourages excessive specialization on the part of the investigator, by showing how apparently distinct branches have been found to possess unexpected connecting links; it saves the student from wasting time and energy upon problems which were, perhaps, solved long since; it discourages him from attacking an unsolved problem by the same method which has led other mathematicians to failure; it teaches that fortifications can be taken by other ways than by direct attack, that when repulsed from a direct assault it is well to reconnoitre and occupy the surrounding ground and to discover the secret paths by which the apparently unconquerable position can be taken."
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Academics from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesMathematicians from the United StatesMathematicians from SwitzerlandHistorians of mathematics
Original Language: English
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pp. 1-2; Cited in: Robert Edouard Moritz. Memorabilia mathematica; or, The philomath's quotation-book, (1914) p. 90; Study and research in mathematics
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Florian_Cajori
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Florian Cajori
1859 – 1930
Florian Cajori (1859 – 1930) was a Swiss-American professor of mathematics and physics. He was one of the most celebrated historians of mathematics in his day. Cajori's A History of Mathematics (1894) was the first popular presentation of the history of mathematics in the United States and his 1928 –1929 History of Mathematical Notations has been described as "unsurpassed."
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