CENTRE POUR UNE HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES VUES D’ASIE (CHSA) /
CENTER FOR A HISTORY OF SCIENCE SEEN FROM ASIA (CHSA)
University Paris Diderot
Room Malevitch, 483A
10.30am – 12am
TALK
Natalie N. May (Berlin)
A. A. Vaiman and his "Babylonian Triples :"
The Approach of a Cuneiformist to Elements of Number Theory
in Ancient Mesopotamia
Abstract : This paper is dedicated to Aizik A. Vaiman, Soviet Assyriologist and historian of ancient mathematics. I will speak about his life, academic career, his scholarly interests and contributions. One of Vaiman’s most important interventions into the history of Babylonian mathematics is his research on aspects of number theory attested in several Old Babylonian tablets, among them Plimpton 322. Using this example I will demonstrate his methodology and his approach to cuneiform mathematics.
* Université Paris Diderot – CNRS
Laboratoire SPHERE - UMR 7219
Building Condorcet
10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet
75013 Paris
Campus map showing metro and RER station and bus stops.
