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Cambridge history of mathematics
Cambridge University has been studying mathematics for a long time. The first notable figure is Robert Recorde (born about 1550), who is regarded as the inventor of the equal sign "=". He wrote several textbooks in the form of dialogue, but his last book ended with the author being arrested for debt.
Those who are not interested in antiques begin their history with Wallis, Barrow and Newton about a century later. All three outstanding figures have interesting non-mathematical careers. Wallis cracked the code for Parliament in the Civil War. Barlow is famous for his strength and courage. On a trip to the East, he saved his ship from being hijacked by pirates with his bravery. Newton took an open part in the quarrel between the university and King James II. )
The great success of Newton's work has brought the lucky effect of establishing mathematical prestige in Britain and Cambridge, and the unfortunate effect of making British mathematicians unable to see the progress of mathematics elsewhere. The following parish century was not a very glorious period for Cambridge or English mathematics. However, it witnessed a slow but important change, which will be described in the next paragraph.
Over the years, the syllabus of medieval universities has lost its relevance, and the debate on its review has become a form. At some time around 6 5438+0725, a voluntary examination began to help cultivate better students. At first, the exam was an oral exam, including math and some philosophical questions. Later, the candidates wrote down their answers, but the questions were dictated. Finally, around 1790, the questions were printed. Thus the Cambridge Mathematics Examination was born, which is the originator of all university examinations in the world.
The exam was held in the Senate in January-this is a very beautiful building with marble floors and decorative ceilings; Because it is a model of a Greek temple, because there is no chimney in the temple, and because a stove or any kind of fire may damage the building, we have to consider the weather. Sometimes ink freezes in ink bottles.
Because math competition is the only way for students to show their intelligence, many people choose it to make outstanding achievements in other fields. In view of what we are talking about now, Thomas Clarkson provides an appropriate example. He helped lead the struggle against the slave trade. Even when examinations in other disciplines become feasible, the trinity of mathematics continues to produce people like Keynes and Bertrand Russell, who have made outstanding achievements in very different fields.
In A.D. 1820, a group of young mathematicians, including Babbage (an analytical engine), modernized Tripos to take into account the work of mathematicians in continental Europe, and the examination of moderns began.
Details have changed, but as Gao Erdun described, the inspection lasted for eight days, five and a half hours a day. People in the upper class are called (and still are) debaters, which is a response to the old debate system. The candidates are arranged in the order of scores. The first candidate is "Senior herdsman", the second is "Second herdsman", and so on. In a list that Gao Erdun was allowed to consult, senior herdsman got more than 7,500 points, the lowest herdsman got about 1500 points, and the lowest candidate (who won the "wooden spoon") got 300 points. Although the owner of the wooden spoon has 100 people above him, he in turn far exceeds 300 "voters" who failed, or more commonly, did not try to win honor. Gao Erdun is a pollster. )
Tripos became a national event, and a big bet was made on the result. In 1890, Miss Fossett was placed above "advanced herdsman" (that is, she defeated all her male competitors). According to the Dictionary of National Biography, it "greatly promoted women's higher education and naturally gave her mother the greatest satisfaction".
People may wonder whether a system in which the best students spend three years training to solve problems against time represents an ideal way to teach mathematics. However, this system is a hotbed for the great development of British physics in the19th century. Its products include Maxwell (Second herdsman), Kelvin (Second herdsman), Stokes (Senior herdsman) and Rayleigh (Senior herdsman). Purely speaking, it produced Sylvester (second generation herdsman) and Cayley (advanced herdsman). Pearson, the father of modern statistics, is the third herdsman.
19th century Cambridge system focuses on undergraduate teaching. Although good research is appreciated, it is not regarded as a professional responsibility, and universities should not provide support for it. A different view developed in France, and then became more intense in German universities. In the course of the 20th century, Cambridge Mathematics first integrated with the German research-driven university model, and then integrated with the subsequent model proposed by major American universities (post 1950).
Milestones in this process include the publication of Hardy's "A Course in Pure Mathematics" (however, as long as you look at Amazon, it will still be a best seller nearly a century later) and the abolition of the value order in the 1909 mathematics trilogy. The present exam is difficult, but not intense.
Under the old system, the top ranked person could take further examinations in some branches of advanced mathematics to win the Smith Prize. When Kelvin found an interesting result in three-dimensional calculus, he told it to Stokes, who took it as a question in the Smith Prize exam. It is now called Stokes Theorem. The Smith Prize exam has evolved into the third part, which is a one-year postgraduate qualification exam, with about 200 students from all over the world taking part. Since 1885, the Smith Prize (now with the Rayleigh Prize and Knight Prize) has been awarded a mathematical paper. Today, this is usually the work of students after four semesters of research. Past winners include Turing, Cosette, Ingham, Hodge and Huo Yier.
Although colleges like 1930, including Dirac, G.I. Taylor, Sir Harold jeffries, Philip Hall, Hardy, Littlewood and Mary Cartwright, are almost impeccable in research, this supporting structure seems strange to modern people. Teachers meet from time to time to decide who should teach what, but there are no public buildings, and everyone works in his own college.
About 1960, the college was finally organized into departments. These are cups that belonged to the old printing house and office before a very slight renovation, and then wait to be demolished in order to make a new road. After 40 years, it has become clear that not only will this road never be built, but the growth of teachers has made the school buildings overcrowded.
In a very short time, enough funds were raised to move both departments to the splendid new building of Mathematical Science Center (CMS) near Clarkson Road and wilberforce Road. (wilberforce is another Cambridge anti-slavery activist. )? The whole construction project needs 6 1.4 million, a total of? 30.8 million pounds or 50% comes from private sources. Another one? 140,000 comes from public funds, and the rest comes from within Cambridge.
In the past 100 years, the college has developed slowly and steadily, and has become more and more international in terms of faculty and students. We hope and expect that these trends will continue. Due to these and other factors discussed above, Cambridge has become more like other great mathematical centers than in the past. However, we believe that it retains its commitment to undergraduate and graduate level teaching, but it is also biased to some extent.
Searching for articles containing the word "Cambridge" in Mactutor archives can help you get a good understanding of mathematicians related to Cambridge, but it does not include several important physicists. Searching for articles containing the word "Wrangler" can give you a good understanding of mathematicians at Cambridge University. The website of Oxford National Biographical Dictionary can only be accessed by subscription, but if you can access it, searching for biographies containing the word "herdsman" will reveal the position of this difference in British life. A search under' optime' gives some people who have won honors with lower standards. )