Myths and folklore are part of the history (and charm) of mathematics.
Surely we can pass on to our students the stories that inspired us, with
appropriate caveats. Part of life is coming to understand that traditional
stories (in whatever context) are rarely literal truths. We must encourage
students to realise that not everything that is reported is true and that
historians make mistakes and present coloured versions of reality, and that
my teaching is likely to contain as many mistakes as that of my predecessors,
whether they be the same kind of mistakes or new kinds.
Tony
Tony Mann
School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences,
The University of Greenwich, Woolwich Campus,
London SE18 6PF, UK
(from September 1999 this will be
Maritime Greenwich University Campus, 30 Park Row,
Greenwich, London SE10 9LS)
Tel: +(44) (0)20 8331 8709
Fax: +(44) (0)20 8331 8665
Email: A.Mann@gre.ac.uk
Web site http://www.gre.ac.uk/~A.Mann