A Cal State Fullerton mathematics professor and student scholar made an important discovery in the history of mathematical theory that was recently published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Bogdan Suceav?, Ph.D., and Isabel Serrano started their research into the history of curvature last summer with emphasis on the contributions made by the French monk Nicole Oresme.
Serrano was on the fence about whether to double major in math and history, so Suceav? approached her with the research idea as a way to combine the two.
“I was much interested in making this experience like the road to self discovery for her,” Suceav? said.
The research involved three to four months of reading pages upon pages of 600-year-old texts by Oresme, a 14th century scholar whose work covered subjects such as philosophy, psychology, mathematics, economics, astronomy and theology.
However, when the history of curvature is discussed, Oresme’s name is often left out of the conversation. One of the reasons why Oresme has been excluded fromhistory books on the subject is because of possible biblical citations used in his works. Later generations may have seen these religious references as inaccurate, but if read correctly, Oresme used these citations to demonstrate his theories and not prove them.
Dr. Suceav? said that in academics it is important to be fair in recognizing the contributions of people all around the world.
“We just have to point out when somebody figured out the definition for the first time,” Suceav? said. “This is the fair way to go.”
What made Oresme’s work groundbreaking was the way in which he tried to apply his mathematics to other fields of study such as psychology and human behavior.
Oresme didn’t “build on known mathematical language because part of that language hadn’t even been developed,” said Serrano.
According to Suceav?, Oresme was attempting to apply his theories of curvature to the development of perceptions.
Ideas such as that were thought to have only surfaced in contemporary mathematics, Suceav? said.
Back when Oresme was establishing his ideas and theories, the Catholic Church had a strong influence on the way people thought.
Suceav? believes that Oresme was trying to propose truth, and not just what his faith or the church wanted people to believe.
“I think he’s more of a scientist than a priest,” Suceav? said.
The team’s work and discoveries, along with further information on Oresme, can be found in the scholarly journal Notices, which was published on Oct. 1.
“For myself, the whole story was an expression of hope,” Suceav? said. “Look what the human mind can do. This is beautiful.”