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A contribution to mathematical evangelism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

John Baylis
John Baylis*
Affiliation:
35 Bunny Lane, Keyworth, Notts NG12 5JU
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Extract

1. Presumably all readers of this journal, and certainly all contributors to it do mathematics because they enjoy it. Have you ever stopped to think what a wonderful but strange gift it is, this ability to enjoy mathematics? Outsiders are not, I claim, capable of sharing or appreciating this enjoyment, but the reasons are not easy to find, as we see when we try out a few possibilities. The language is technical—yes, but so is that of art, music, atomic physics and computing, and these subjects suffer from no shortage of enthusiastic followers whose technical knowledge is virtually nil. The subject is hard, and to become a participant requires dedication, even sacrifice; true, but true also of the other examples. Mathematicians are all slightly over the edge of the sanity/insanity divide, a common view but isn’t the same said of mountaineers and marathon runners while we watch their exploits with baited breath?

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 67 , Issue 442 , December 1983 , pp. 262 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1983

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References

1. Baylis, D. J., Proof, the essence of mathematics, part I, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 14, 409 (1983).Google Scholar
2. Baylis, D. J., Proof, the essence of mathematics. Part II, to appear in the journal above.Google Scholar
3. Burghes, D., IMA bulletin, 18, 130 (1982).Google Scholar
4. Rotman, B. and Kneebone, G. T., The theory of sets and transfinite numbers. Oldbourne (1966).Google Scholar