MATHEMATICS captivates those who understand its ability to bring order to chaos. But for the uninitiated the merest whiff of algebra can create confusion and frustration.
In Poor Robin鈥檚 Prophecies, tells the story of Georgian Britain鈥檚 love-hate relationship with arithmetic at a time when a mathematical education was only for the few. He looks at the period through the lens of almanac culture, in which compendiums of useful information 鈥� some serious, others jovial, all usually bedded in the astronomical 鈥� were printed yearly. It鈥檚 an inspired thesis, which allows him to link the high-end ponderings of scientists and astronomers with work-a-day practices like charting the seasons and predicting tides.
Wardhaugh explains how the 18th-century working classes often mistrusted mathematics, capable as it was of deciphering codes and predicting celestial behaviour. Almanacs helped change that. As a case study, Wardhaugh uses Poor Robin鈥檚 Almanack, a semi-satirical publication that was popular and entertaining, but also contained serious content. He deftly traces the influence of almanacs through 160 years, explaining how they gave people simple tools which could help them calculate earnings or schedule seed planting. Over time, of course, mathematics became more important, be it calculus to evaluate the volume of barrels or trigonometry for firing cannons accurately.
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Indeed, almanacs helped promote a cultural shift. Wardhaugh鈥檚 research reveals mathematical clubs and a, now rather sexist, Womens鈥� Almanack, all of which were built around the idea of toiling with the subject for enjoyment.
鈥淢athematical clubs were built around the idea of toiling with the subject for enjoyment鈥�
While the likes of Poor Robin and his pamphlets may have disappeared long ago, mathematics remains a bedrock of our society. This wonderful book goes a long way in highlighting why.
Poor Robin鈥檚 Prophecies
Oxford University Press