Numberphiles

The study of mathematics in the early Islamic world (8th - 12th century) played an important role in transmitting and building on knowledge from the ancient Greeks to the scientific revolution. In several cases, books by ancient Greeks were only available in their Arabic translation which were then translated to Latin. While studying and translating the Greek texts, the Muslim scholars made their own discoveries. We will discuss a few famous examples from those times including Al-Khwarizmi’s method of solving quadratic equations, Omar Khayyam’s method for solving a cubic equation and Ibn Sinan’s construction of a parabola.

Our presenters: Rayyan Hameed is currently finishing up 8th grade at Tilden MS. He has a keen interest in mathematics but would rather be in a hockey arena or soccer field. Dr. Farhan Hameed has a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Macalester College. Although Farhan has worked as an economist throughout his career, math has been a passion. He is always looking for creative ways to introduce his children to math concepts.

The Rockville Numberphiles is a math club for mathematicians from middle school - adults (under 18 must be accompanied by an adult). Our interactive discussions and presentations help youth and adults explore the broad range of elementary and advanced mathematics, its history, and problem solving. For more information, contact Howard at hjlichtman@lichtman.ws or 301.580.7190.