> Mornin' Julio:
>
> Your friends comments about to whom one ought (?) to teach the history
> of mathematics reminded me of a comment made by the late George Polya
> w.r.t. pure mathematics: "Where there is only purity, there is no
> creativity." Your friend's attitude wipes out research in Babylonian
> mathematics, for instance.
Most research in Babylonian mathematics is carried out by people who can
read the originals. I think a more accurate statement would be that
Julio's friend's attitude wipes out *teaching* Babylonian mathematics.
Regards,
Duncan
-- Duncan J. Melville Dept of Mathematics St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617