Wikipedia talk:Good article reassessment/Mathematics/1

Coleman quotes

These are quotations from

Jose Coleman (2007), Fundamentals of Mathematics, Global Media, ISBN 8189940570

I suggest comparison with this November 2006 version of the article, where the Peirce quote was added.

Mathematics (colloquially, maths or math) is the body of knowledge centered on concepts such as quantity, structure, space, and change
Benjamin Peirce called it "the science that draws necessary conclusions"
It evolved, through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the study of the shapes and motions of physical objects
Mathematicians explore such concepts, aiming to formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions
the development continued in short bursts until the Renaissance period of the 16th century where mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries leading to an acceleration in understanding that continues to the present day
Today, mathematics is used throughout the world in many fields, including science, engineering, medicine and economics
The application of mathematics to such fields,... applied mathematics, inspires and makes use of new mathematical discoveries and has sometimes led to the development of entirely new disciplines
Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics for its own sake without having any practical application in mind, although applications for what begins as pure mathematics are often discovered later on

... probably that of numbers. The realization that two apples and two oranges have something in common was a breakthrough in human thought. In addition to recognizing how to count physical objects, prehistoric peoples also recognized how to count abstract quantities, like time – days, seasons, years. Elementary arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), naturally followed.
Further steps need writing or some other system for recording numbers such as tallies or the knotted strings called quipu used by the Inca to store numerical data. Numeral systems have been many and diverse.

etc.

Later in the book, you can find Wikipedia's images. Geometry guy 20:50, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, that's egregious! So, do we sue him now? RobHar (talk) 21:58, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This books is listed in the references for Mathematical jargon. There could be a vicious circle going on here. RobHar (talk) 22:02, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed that too. I suggest the book is removed from Mathematical jargon and not used as a reliable source anywhere. I believe any editor who has contributed to the Mathematics article can sue under the GFDL. Geometry guy 22:15, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]