The Crest of the Peacock 

- A Unique Perspective on Ancient History of Mathematics 

The history of mathematics is fascinating and remains mysterious to us.  After reading the article, the “classic” Eurocentric trajectory seems untenable.  The alternative explanation for the development of ancient mathematics provides me a fresh look.  Under this new interpretation, the contemporary non-European mathematical activities have been ignored, devalued or distorted (Joseph, p. 3).  This unconventional view is sure to be controversial.  Some readers’ reviews on this book are quite negative and they claim the problem of Eurocentrism is overstated.

The second interesting point which attracts my attention is about Pythagoras. I don’t quite remember how many times I have heard Pythagorean theorem but never really investigated the story behind the theory.  Pythagoras, the ancient Greek thinker, in our modern world is famously known as mathematicians and cosmologist.  However, there is no evidence left for any of his work in mathematics or science.  In his days, Pythagoras was seen as an expert on the fate of the soul after death and religious ritual, according to Stanford Encyclopedia.

The third interesting point is how India played an important role in the transmission and diffusion of ideas in ancient history.  Particularly interesting to me is the cross-cultural contact between Indian and China.  Around the first century AD, Indian became the centre of pilgrimage of Chinese Buddhists, which opened the door for scientific and cultural exchange (Joseph, p. 16).

The unique perspective on mathematics from this book is attractive. I would love to read more in the near future.

 

Reference

Joseph, G. (2011). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics (Third Edition). Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press.