Decolonise … maths?

If ‘decolonising maths’ means reassessing who did what, we need to put Greek geometry into perspective. Who invented algebra? And for modern arithmetic we have to thank the Sumerians, whose ethnicity and skin colour remains conveniently unknown. My article in The Critic, 7 July 2020

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Eureka Moments in Syracuse

In a charming Sicilian museum you can test the theories of antiquity’s greatest mathematician. See my article in Standpoint magazine, July/ August 2019, p. 59

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Civilisation made concrete

The great ‘Hanging Garden’ was built by the ancient Assyrians, who were pioneering builders and engineers, Standpoint magazine, February 2019, p.70.

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The Great Expedition

In the mid-eighteenth century a Danish-German expedition sought to discover the roots of the Hebrew Bible in Arabia and Mesopotamia. History Today, June 2017, pp. 72–77.

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The Rise and Fall of Nimrud

The wanton destruction of this once great city in ancient Assyria leaves a hole in history. History Today, June 2015, p. 7.

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Antediluvian Ark

Irving Finkel’s new book The Ark Before Noah:Decoding the Story of the Flood, analyses an ancient cuneiform tablet describing a circular Ark. What was its purpose? Standpoint Magazine, April 2014, p.73

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The Puzzle of Proto-Elamite

Describes new efforts at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford to decode the world’s oldest undeciphered language, History Today, January 2013, p. 6.

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It’s not elementary, my dear Watson

Compares the ancient belief in four elements to the modern belief in four elementary forces, Standpoint Magazine, October 2012, p. 68.

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A light shining from Babylon

Compares the search for the Higgs boson to the Babylonian discovery of how to predict eclipses, Standpoint Magazine, May 2012, p 72.

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The genius of geometry

Places the mystery of Euclid’s life in a modern context, Standpoint Magazine, July/August 2011, p. 83.

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Never too Old

Applauds the value of learning ancient Greek, Standpoint Magazine, May 2010, p. 13.

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