Geometry: Our Cultural Heritage

The book aims at future teachers of mathematics. All too often the geometry which goes into the syllabus for teacher-students presents the material as pedantic and formalistic, suppressing its dynamic character and its role as part of the foundation for our common cultural heritage. The motivation for the book is to open up these aspects of the field. Another motivation is to provide an invitation to mathematics in general. It is an unfortunate fact that today, at a time when mathematics and knowledge of mathematics are more important than ever, phrases like math avoidance and math anxiety are very much in the public vocabulary. An important task is seriously attempting to heal these ills. Ills perhaps inflicted on students at an early age, through deficient or even harmful teaching practices. Thus the book also aims at an informed public, interested in making a new beginning in math. And in doing so, learning more about this part of our cultural heritage. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 is called A Cultural Heritage. The section constitutes an excursion into the history of geometry. It also contains material which is normally not included into a mathematical text. For example, we relate some of the stories told by the Greek historian, Herodotus. Apart from being good reading, some of the early geometers were very much part of these events.