1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is almost everyone’s first memory of maths, the enjoyment of being able to count. However, I have been very naive in my thinking and believed that number systems and counting have been around forever. I have recently discovered that this is not the case.

Some of the earliest evidence of mankind considering mathematically thinking can been seen on marked bones from Africa dating back to around 20,000 years ago (The Story of Mathematics, 2010). It is thought that mankind could identify the difference between having one of something and having two but they had not discovered a way of communicating this through words or symbols. It has been suggested that early mankind made markings on bone to track occurrences such as the phases of the moon, the seasons and time (All Worlds, 2015).

The first steps made towards the mathematical systems we have now were suggested to have been made for bureaucratic needs and the development of agriculture. A shared mathematical system was needing to measure land and work out taxes (The Story of Mathematics, 2010).

This video explains mankind’s first signs of mathematical thinking by looking at the Ishango Bones.

I have read through many articles while writing this post to see if there has been any final determination of what the markings on the Ishango Bones mean, however it is still unknown. The most commonly found assumption I have read is that early mankind were making these markings to track the phases of the moon but again, whether or not this is true is still unknown.

References:

All Worlds (2015) PREHISTORIC MATHEMATICS, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLqTfKtpCA (Accessed on: 6^th October 2017)

International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (2015), The Ishango Bone. An enduring symbol of mankind’s intellectual progress and a star of archaeology from the heart of Africa, Available at: http://www.iocd.org/v2_PDF/IOCD-IshangoBrochure2015bp.pdf (Accessed on: 6^th October 2017)

The Story Of Mathematics (2010), Prehistoric Mathematics, Available at: http://www.storyofmathematics.com/prehistoric.html (Accessed on: 6^th October 2017)

Mathematics, one of the scariest words that can be said. I feel that I suffer from maths anxiety and so when deciding to choose the discovering maths elective I felt very nervous about what to expect. However I must say, so far so good.

From my experience of maths at school I always believed, what I now know to be one of the maths myths; it-should-be-easy suggesting not everyone has a maths brain. (University of Alabama, no date). But there was always part of me questioned this, I knew I wasn’t a maths genius; another one of the math myths but I wasn’t terribly awful at maths either, why was this? The past few lectures provided me with the answer to this – I was able to memorise formulas and structures and apply them to mathematical questions.

Another question about my own math experience started to puzzle me, if I was able to apply what I had memorised to basic mathematical questions, why did I always struggle when the format of the question was changed? For example, if the teacher put the question what is 2 + 3 in front of me I could answer within seconds but when it changed to the question “if I had 2 sweets and my friend gave me another 3, how many would I have altogether?” it would take me some time to work out what this question was asking me to do. The answer to this was simple, during my time at school I had very little practical maths lessons. I cannot remember ever having a maths lesson I didn’t realise at the time was a maths lesson or one I even found enjoyable. Boalar (2009) suggest that children, like myself, who have been taught in a very structural way do have a board range of understanding, however this understanding is not deeply engrained so is easily forgot over time. She also suggests that children who have experienced a more practical approach to mathematics were more flexible and so were able to adapt their knowledge to suit the question that was in front of them.

Since starting this module I have realised many potential ways mathematics can be enjoyable for children. I thoroughly enjoyed the latest lecture on making maths creative. Until this lecture I most likely could tell you very little about geometry and I most definitely could not tell you anything about tessellations. However, I know feel my brain is filled with so much more knowledge about these aspects of mathematics and I certainly won’t forget making my own tessellation, I even plan to make some more.

I am starting to see that discovering maths might not be so daunting after all.

References:

Boaler, J. (2009) The Elephant in the Classroom. London: Souvenir Press Ltd.

University of Alabama (no date).  Math Myths.  Available online at: http://www.ctl.ua.edu/CTLStudyAids/StudySkillsFlyers/Math/mathmyths.htm (Accessed 26th September 2017).