Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics

This volume contains 11 papers that have been collected by the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM). It showcases rigorously reviewed contemporary scholarship on an interesting variety of topics in the history and philosophy of mathematics. Some of the topics explored include: A study of division algorithms for Roman numerals and their implications for understanding computation before positional notation An examination of Cardano's attempt to develop an arithmetic of negative numbers without the rule that a negative times a negative equals a positive An investigation of the possible influence of George Cantor's set theory on the philosophy and art of Kazimir Malevich A history of interpolation methods from polynomial approximation to splines and Bézier curves A comparison of two influential geometry textbooks as a window onto continuity and change in nineteenth-century mathematics education in America Written by leading scholars in the field, these papers are accessible not only to mathematicians and students of the history and philosophy of mathematics, but also to anyone with a general interest in mathematics.