History of Mathematics

Theme: History of Mathematics; delivered by Professor Keith Devlin

Date: 23 October 2019

Time: 6.30pm onwards

Venue: OA5.5/01, Oastler Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH

Contact: Professor Fionn Murtagh, Centre for Mathematics and Data Science, School of Computing and Engineering

 

About the lecture

Leonardo Fibonacci and the birth of the modern western world

ABSTRACT: The first personal computing revolution took place not in Silicon Valley in the 1980s but in Pisa in the 13th Century. The medieval counterpart to modern day innovators such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates was a young Italian mathematician called Leonardo, better known today by the name Fibonacci. Yet his name, and the pivotal role he played in creating the modern world, were forgotten for many centuries. In fact, it was only in 2002 that the discovery of a medieval manuscript in a library in Florence enabled historians to put together the final piece of his remarkable story. I spent a decade researching Fibonacci’s life, resulting in the publication of three books, The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci’s Arithmetical Revolution (Walker & Co, July 2011), Leonardo and Steve: The Young Genius Who Beat Apple to Market by 800 Years (Amazon, July 2011), and Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World (Princeton, March 2017). This heavily illustrated talk recounts both Fibonacci’s story and what it took to uncover it.

The event is free of charge to attend and will include refreshments and the opportunity to network.

Please register on our online store