Laura Turner, Monmouth University

Villanova University (Villanova, PA)

Thursday, October 19, 2017, 10:00 pm EDT
Saint Augustine Center, Room 300

In this talk, we consider five texts written by the Harvard mathematician Edward V. Huntington (1874-1952) and attempt to pin down particular mathematical values informing and exemplified within his work. In these texts, published in the first years of the 20th century, Huntington presents a number of different sets of postulates defining the algebra of real quantities and the underlying linear continuum. As we will see, these postulate sets, which initially demonstrate striking parsimony, ultimately reveal a pedagogically-informed classical, analytical perspective, expressed in the logical formulation characteristic of the the modernist transformation of mathematics that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


 


This event is part of the Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics. We begin with conversation and a light supper (donation $10.00). About 6:30-6:45 the talk will begin.


 


Directions:  Villanova University is located on Route 30, Lancaster Avenue, just east of I-476.  If you drive to the meeting, enter Villanova by the main gate on Ithan Avenue. By order of the Parking Office all parking is now in the Saint Augustine Center lot, newly refurbished to a multistory structure. You will need to display a parking pass, which will follow in a later email. The Saint Augustine Center is attached to the lot, and Room 300 is on the third floor. You can get in touch with me (Alan Gluchoff) at 610-905-1376 if you need help.

 

Public Transportation: Take SEPTA’s Paoli-Thorndale train to the Villanova station. If outbound from center city go down through the tunnel to the inbound side. From the inbound platform go up the stairs and proceed to the left. The second building you encounter is the SAC; entry is through the parking lot or the front entrance.