Counting with Alice
Tipo de documento
Autores
Lista de autores
Moktefi, Amirouche
Resumen
There are many mathematical references in Lewis Carroll’s two tales for children: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872). Many critics suggested that Carroll inserted hidden meanings in those passages. We rather consider them as part of the story’s setting and narrative. Yet, those passages may be interpreted and used as convenient to illustrate mathematical ideas. In this paper, we consider two passages from the Alice tales that relate to arithmetic, and we discuss them in relation to issues of personal identity, mathematical certainty, the role of notations and the processes of composition and decomposition in mental calculation. Hence, we show how literary texts can be used to convey ideas related to mathematics, mathematical culture and mathematical education. We conclude on the importance of mathematical writings as literary texts.
Fecha
2020
Tipo de fecha
Estado publicación
Términos clave
Desde disciplinas académicas | Libros de texto | Números naturales | Usos o significados
Enfoque
Nivel educativo
Idioma
Revisado por pares
Formato del archivo
Volumen
10
Número
2
Rango páginas (artículo)
58-68
ISSN
22380345
Referencias
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