For example the story of Gauss and the sum 1+2+3+...+100 shows a
mathematical point and also demonstrates to the student that such
apparently difficult problems yield to alternative approaches and lie
within the grasp of quite young students. This is important. But it is
worth saying that the story may not be quite as true as Bell makes it.
Mike D
Karen Dee Michalowicz wrote:
>
> In a message dated 8/3/99 11:49:00, Richard Quick writes:
>
> > At a lower level, ie high school, how wrong is it to use historically
> > inaccurate stories? E.T. Bell's Galois story may not be 100% true,
> > but what is the harm if they help a student to become interested in
> > the subject?
> >
>
> What I do is tell the stories to the students which are pre-college.
> However, I also point out that our information about mathematics
> history is always evolving and growing. Research has helped us to see
> that some "cute" stories which may have been around for centuries are
> only cute stories. As an example, in the USA, is has long been
> believed and written in history books that the everyone at the time
> of Columbus believed the earth was flat. Not so, we know. The story
> was originated by a US writer in the last century and took hold.
> The notion is so ingrained that non-historians believe the real truth
> is a fabrication. (I tell my students this too.)
>
> History needs to be accurate. However, in my opinion, it doesn't hurt
> to say there is a traditional story, long repeated, about Archimedes, for
> example, which may have happened or something like the story happened.
> Such stories which are part of tradition do make mathematicians
> interesting. But students sometimes need to have a caveat.
>
> Karen Dee Michalowicz