The Crest of the Peacock

  Throughout this reading by Joseph (2011), I could not help but draw parallels between how the history of non-European mathematics was devalued and the modern-day issues relating to white colonialism and privilege. I was surprised by how much the world back then was reflected into the history of the development of mathematics, such as the idea of European superiority (where European refers to Europe and United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). European superiority is unfortunately not an unfamiliar concept even now – where Europeans, specifically white settlers are credited for many discoveries. 

        Growing up and hearing names such as Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Plato in math led me to believe that the Greeks invented mathematics. Thus, another shocker came from the fact that some of these legendary names had travelled to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and even India to gain their mathematical knowledge (Joseph, 2011). As Joseph mentioned, these civilizations were so disconnected geographically (Joseph, 2011), that I wonder how much of the mathematical knowledge was similar between civilizations and how much of it was lost in the process of transferring knowledge, creating “gaps” in the timeline of the history of mathematics.  For instance, Joseph brings up several Babylonian tablets in this chapter and I believe we cannot rule out the fact that other tablets probably exist but have not been discovered, and that there are mathematical concepts we still have not discovered in which the Babylonians understood. 

Perhaps it was common knowledge, but this was the first time I learned that our number system originated from India. In addition to the number system, it was surprising to learn that India was so involved in trigonometry as well, particularly the sine function (Joseph, 2011). It seems the contributions the Arab and India made towards mathematics are so overlooked even today. Weaving this information about the history of mathematics into the curriculum could make way for larger conversations in the classroom about social issues, and giving credit where credit is due. 

Joseph, G. G. (2011). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.