Is There a Story in the Signs? Tales of Geographical Exploration and the New Mathematics of the Seventeenth Century

A new way of speaking about mathematics and describing it emerged among mathematicians around the year 1600. A field which was formerly praised for its simplicity, clarity, and inescapable truth, was now described as a hazardous voyage of stormy mathematical seas, in search of hidden gems. Significantly, the same authors who promoted the new vision  of the mathematician as a heroic explorer were also those most responsible for developing and disseminating the new infinitesimal methods that  ultimately led to the calculus.

Are these two trends related? In this talk I will argue that they are. The story of heroic exploration guided mathematical thought in new  directions, suggested new questions not posed before, and legitimized new answers previously rejected. The austere mathematical signs of early modern infinitesimal mathematics did indeed harbor a story of grand adventure, exploration, and the unveiling of hidden secrets.

For more information see Doron Zeilberger's 54th Opinion