Indian Mathematics gives a unique insight into the history of mathematics within a historical global context. It builds on research into the connection between mathematics and the world-wide advancement of economics and technology. Joseph draws out parallel developments in other cultures and carefully examines the transmission of mathematical ideas across geographical and cultural borders.Accessible to those who have an interest in the global history of mathematical ideas, for the historians, philosophers and sociologists of mathematics, it is a book not to be missed.

A Brief Biography of Ramanujan, origin of numerals and brief biographies of ancient Indian Mathematicians.

This book offers an engaging and comprehensive introduction to scientific theories and the evolution of science and mathematics through the centuries. It discusses the history of scientific thought and ideas and the intricate dynamic between new scientific discoveries, scientists, culture and societies. Through stories and historical accounts, the volume illustrates the human engagement and preoccupation with science and the interpretation of natural phenomena. It highlights key scientific breakthroughs from the ancient to later ages, giving us accounts of the work of ancient Greek and Indian mathematicians and astronomers, as well as of the work of modern scientists like Descartes, Newton, Planck, Mendel and many more. The author also discusses the vast advancements which have been made in the exploration of space, matter and genetics and their relevance in the advancement of the scientific tradition. He provides great insights into the process of scientific experimentation and the relationship between science and mathematics. He also shares amusing anecdotes of scientists and their interactions with the world around them. Detailed and accessible, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of science, mathematics, the philosophy of science, science and technology studies and history. It will also be useful for general readers who are interested in the history of scientific discoveries and ideas.

Based on extensive research in Sanskrit sources, Mathematics in India chronicles the development of mathematical techniques and texts in South Asia from antiquity to the early modern period. Kim Plofker reexamines the few facts about Indian mathematics that have become common knowledge--such as the Indian origin of Arabic numerals--and she sets them in a larger textual and cultural framework. The book details aspects of the subject that have been largely passed over in the past, including the relationships between Indian mathematics and astronomy, and their cross-fertilizations with Islamic scientific traditions. Plofker shows that Indian mathematics appears not as a disconnected set of discoveries, but as a lively, diverse, yet strongly unified discipline, intimately linked to other Indian forms of learning. Far more than in other areas of the history of mathematics, the literature on Indian mathematics reveals huge discrepancies between what researchers generally agree on and what general readers pick up from popular ideas. This book explains with candor the chief controversies causing these discrepancies--both the flaws in many popular claims, and the uncertainties underlying many scholarly conclusions. Supplementing the main narrative are biographical resources for dozens of Indian mathematicians; a guide to key features of Sanskrit for the non-Indologist; and illustrations of manuscripts, inscriptions, and artifacts. Mathematics in India provides a rich and complex understanding of the Indian mathematical tradition. **Author's note: The concept of "computational positivism" in Indian mathematical science, mentioned on p. 120, is due to Prof. Roddam Narasimha and is explored in more detail in some of his works, including "The Indian half of Needham's question: some thoughts on axioms, models, algorithms, and computational positivism" (Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 28, 2003, 1-13).

This is a new release of the original 1930 edition.

The major creations and developments in mathematics from the beginnings in Babylonia and Egypt through the first few decades of the twentieth century are presented with clarity and precision in this comprehensive historical study.