Self-Translation of Mathematical Texts in Seventeenth-Century France: The Cases of Pascal, Mersenne and Hérigone

This study investigates self-translation – the process of producing a second version of a text in another language – as it relates to three pairs of mathematical works created in Latin and French in mid-seventeenth-century France: Pierre Hérigone’s Cursus mathematicus and Cours mathématique, Marin Mersenne’s Harmonicorum libri and Harmonie universelle, and Blaise Pascal’s treatises on the Arithmetic Triangle. The investigation uses case-study methodology and self-translation research as a framework to examine why and how the three scholars produced bilingual versions of their texts, and does so against the background of the most significant contemporary social and historical factors. As research into pre-twentieth-century non-literary self-translation, it examines material and practices that have largely fallen outside the most frequently investigated areas of self-translation research. The study shows that the most common reasons for writing bilingual works in France during the period in question were related to the emergence of new and changing audiences. This was particularly attributable to the changing relationship between Latin and French: the early seventeenth century was a time of flux, where French was gradually taking over from Latin in French scholarly writing and was the language of the scientific cabinets, attended by an increasingly educated populace, while, at the same time, Latin was consolidating its position as the language of the pan-European Republic of Letters. Many French scholars who wished to maximise their audiences, both within France and across Europe, chose to write their works in Latin, slightly more opted for French, while others, including the case-study scholars, chose to compose their books in both languages. Other, more individual factors were involved in the case-study authors’ decision to self-translate, including the desire to develop ideas, teach mathematics and compose a significant musical work for as large an audience as possible. The different types of text composed by the three mathematicians and their differing motivations led to a range of approaches to self-translation and a variety of outcomes. Some features of the bilingual works are common to all three case studies, including the use of French mathematical terminology derived from its Latin equivalents, a desire to accommodate different audiences for the texts in the two languages, and the use of rhetoric, including ‘mathematical rhetoric’, in both Latin and French

The art and architecture of mathematics education: a study in metaphors

This chapter presents the summary of a talk given at the Eighth European Summer University, held in Oslo in 2018. It attempts to show how art, literature, and history, can paint images of mathematics that are not only useful but relevant to learners as they can support their personal development as well as their appreciation of mathematics as a discipline. To achieve this goal, several metaphors about and of mathematics are explored

Philosophy and Mathematics at the Turn of the 18th Century: New Perspectives – Philosophie et mathématiques au tournant du XVIIIe siècle: perspectives nouvelles

The essays gathered in this issue of the journal Noctua focus on the various relationships that were established between philosophy and mathematics from Galileo and Descartes to Kant, passing by Newton

Large space structures and systems in the space station era: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 04)

Bibliographies and abstracts are listed for 1211 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between 1 Jul. and 30 Dec. 1991. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher, manager, and designer in technology development and mission design according to system, interactive analysis and design, structural concepts and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, propulsion, and solar power satellite systems