Secondary Mathematics is a method for processing of
mathematical knowledge.
In Secondary Mathematics there are especially discussed topics that are
not
discussed in common mathematics because they are common knowledge.
Secondary Mathematics wants to get truths in detail to use them
most productively.
HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS
The
word "mathematics" comes from the Greek
μάθημα (máthema) which
means
"science, knowledge, or learning"; μαθηματικός
(mathematikós)
means "fond of
learning". Today, the term refers to a specific
body of knowledge -- the
deductive study of quantity, structure, space
and change.
While almost all cultures use basic mathematics
(counting and
measuring), new
mathematical developments have been reported
in relatively few cultures
and ages.Before the modern age and the worldwide spread of
knowledge, written
examples of new mathematical developments come to light only in
a few locales. The
most
ancient mathematical texts come from ancient Egypt in the
Middle
Kingdom period
circa 1300-1200 BC (Berlin 6619), Mesopotamia circa
1800 BC (Plimpton
322),
and ancient India circa 800-500 BC (Sulba Sutras). All
of these
texts concern the so-called Pythagorean theorem, which seems to be the
most ancient and widespread mathematical developments after basic arithmetic and
geometry.
Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic cultures of Egypt,
Mesopotamia and the city
of Syracuse increased mathematical knowledge. Jaina mathematicians
contributed
from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD.
The first true evidence of mathematical activity in China can
be found in numeration
symbols on oracle bones, dated to about 1300 BC [1] [2], while
the Han Dynasty
in ancient China contributed the Sea Island Manual and The Nine
Chapters on the
Mathematical Art from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. Hindu
mathematicians from the 5th century and Islamic mathematicians from the
9th century made major contributions to mathematics.
One striking feature about the history of ancient and medieval
mathematics is that
bursts of mathematical development tended to be followed by
centuries of stagnation.
Beginning in Renaissance Italy in the 16th century, new
mathematical developments,
interacting with new scientific discoveries, were made at an
ever increasing pace, and
this continues to the present day.