The Crest of the Peacock

The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics
Author George Gheverghese Joseph
Language English
Subject History of mathematics
Publisher Princeton University Press
Publication date
 1991
Pages 592
ISBN 9780691135267

The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics is a book authored by George Gheverghese Joseph and published by Princeton University Press, the third edition of which was released in 2011.[1] The book was brought out as a response to view of the history of mathematics epitomized by Morris Kline's statement that, comparing to what the Greeks achieved, "the mathematics of Egyptians and Babylonians is the scrawling of children just learning to write, as opposed to great literature",[2] criticised by Joseph as Eurocentric.[3]

The book is divided into 11 chapters. Chapter 1 provides a lengthy justification for the book. Chapter 2 is devoted to a discussion of the mathematics of Native Americans and Chapter 3 to the mathematics of ancient Egyptians. In the next two chapters the mathematics of Mesopotamia is considered. There are two chapters dealing with Chinese mathematics, three chapters with Indian mathematics. The book concludes with a chapter on the Islamic contribution to mathematics.

Reviews

  • A review of the first edition of the book: Victor J Katz (August 1992). "Book Review: The crest of the peacock: Non-European roots of mathematics: By George Gheverghese Joseph" (PDF). Historia Mathematica. 19 (3): 310–315. doi:10.1016/0315-0860(92)90042-a. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  • A review of the book by European Mathematical Information Service: Abdul Karim Bangura (Summer 2001). "Review of The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics. 2nd. ed". Nexus Mathematical Journal. 3 (3). Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  • A review of the book by David Pingree: David Pingree (September 1993). "Reviewed Work: The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics by George Gheverghese Joseph". Isis. 84 (3): 548–549. doi:10.1086/356553. JSTOR 235648.
  • For a critical assessment of some of the claims and arguments of the author: Clemency Montelle (December 2013). "Review of The crest of the peacock: Non-European roots of mathematics" (PDF). Notices of the AMS: 1459–1463. Retrieved 5 March 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics Third Edition". Princeton University Press. Princeton University. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Joseph (1991), p. 177 misquotes Kline by replacing "Babylonians" by "Mesopotamians". The actual quote from Kline is "Compared with the accomplishments of their immediate successors, the Greeks, the mathematics of the Egyptians and Babylonians is the scrawling of children just learning to write as opposed to great literature." Morris Kline (1962). Mathematics: A Cultural Approach. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. p. 14. , Mathematics for Liberal Arts (1967), re-published as Mathematics for the Nonmathematician (1985), p. 14.
  3. ↑ Clemency Montelle (December 2013). "Book Review" (PDF). Notices of the AMS: 1459–1463. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
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