SAFIC lecture 'Golden Age of Indian Mathematics' by Prof. K Ramasubramanian on Aug 03 2019 1600-1730 hrs
Megh Kalyanasundaram
Megh Kalyanasundaram
In his lecture titled “Golden Age of Indian Mathematics,” Prof. Ramasubramanian said that we can roughly classify the contributions of Indian mathematics in three time periods – the ancient period before 500 BCE, the classical period from 500 BCE to 1300 CE, and the mediaeval period from 1300 to 1750 CE. He listed a few key figures and works from these time periods.
He briefly spoke about the astronomical connections with the ancient mathematical discoveries in India. And also showed pictures through his presentation of how mathematics in India evolved as an organic necessity for the intricate and precise calculations needed for designing the vedic altar for yajña. He also mentioned the connections between mathematics in India and poetic meters or chandas, and added that the first reference to shunya (zero of the decimal system, which is an important contribution of Indian mathematics) is found in Pingala’s Chandashastra.
The lecture was attended by a large number of school children – including some from the various parts of the USA who were attending a special residential study camp at the Sri Aurobindo Society campus (UNMEṢA), and others from some of the local schools in Pondicherry. At various points in his presentation Prof. Ramasubramanian affectionately engaged this younger audience by asking simple questions pertaining to some of what he was presenting.
Prof. Ramasubramanian highlighted some of the key contributions of Indian mathematicians such as the methods to solve indeterminate equations of II order, and said that to this day the methods used by Indian mathematicians remain the most sophisticated and remarkable.
He highlighted the contributions of Kerala school of mathematicians in the mediaeval period, most prominent name from that period being Madhava. Several children and the adults in the audience were familiar with this name, and also with that of Bhaskara and his famous work Lilavati. Prof. Ramasburamanian showed the audience a couple of examples of problems from Lilavati and encouraged the audience to work through these problems. He also gave another interesting example of construction of magic squares, a problem found in a 14th century text by Narayan Pandita; many children found this quite intriguing.
Towards the end of his lecture, Prof. Ramasubramanian shared comments by some of the leading scientists and mathematicians of recent times which bring to light the remarkable work done by the ancient Indian mathematicians. He concluded with a few general but highly significant remarks about some key lessons that can be learned by studying the works and approaches of ancient Indian mathematics. These lessons concern how to make mathematics education approachable and interesting for all, and how to connect mathematical learning with facilitating overall creativity in the learners. These are generally ignored in the way mathematics is taught in the modern education systems.
The lecture was followed by a few questions from the audience, which Prof. addressed. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Beloo Mehra, Senior Associate, SAFIC, who also reminded the audience of a few more upcoming SAFIC events."
Irene Galstian
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Megh Kalyanasundaram
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Irene Galstian
Irene
On 8/20/19, Megh Kalyanasundaram <kalyanasun...@gmail.com> wrote:
> SAFIC Youtube channel:
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFeaqNxDNYKQDFdeQe8znRg/videos
> Most recent update: (alteast) 3 days ago.
> For a subsequent talk
>> to shunya (zero of the decimal system, which is an important contribution
>> of Indian mathematics) is found in Pingala’s Chandashastra.
>>
>>
>> The lecture was attended by a large number of school children – including
>> some from the various parts of the USA who were attending a special
>> residential study camp at the Sri Aurobindo Society campus (UNMEṢA
>> points
>> in his presentation Prof. Ramasubramanian affectionately engaged this
>> younger audience by asking simple questions pertaining to some of what he
>> was presenting.
>>
>>
>> Prof. Ramasubramanian highlighted some of the key contributions of Indian
>> mathematicians such as the methods to solve indeterminate equations of II
>> order, and said that to this day the methods used by Indian
>> mathematicians
>> remain the most sophisticated and remarkable.
>>
>>
>> He highlighted the contributions of Kerala school of mathematicians in
>> the
>> mediaeval period, most prominent name from that period being Madhava.
>> Several children and the adults in the audience were familiar with this
>> name, and also with that of Bhaskara and his famous work Lilavati. Prof.
>> Ramasburamanian showed the audience a couple of examples of problems from
>> Lilavati and encouraged the audience to work through these problems. He
>> also gave another interesting example of construction of magic squares, a
>> problem found in a 14th century text by Narayan Pandita; many children
>> found this quite intriguing.
>> Towards the end of his lecture, Prof. Ramasubramanian shared comments
>> by some of the leading scientists and mathematicians of recent times
>> which
>> bring to light the remarkable work done by the ancient Indian
>> mathematicians. He concluded with a few general but highly significant
>> remarks about some key lessons that can be learned by studying the
>> works
>> and approaches of ancient Indian mathematics. These lessons concern
>> how to make mathematics education approachable and interesting for all,
>> and
>> how to connect mathematical learning with facilitating overall
>> creativity
>> in the learners. These are generally ignored in the way mathematics is
>> taught in the modern education systems.
>>
>>
>> The lecture was followed by a few questions from the audience, which
>> Prof. addressed. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr.
>> Beloo
>> Mehra, Senior Associate, SAFIC, who also reminded the audience of a
>> few
>> more upcoming SAFIC events."
>>
>> On Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 10:54:20 AM UTC+5:30, Megh Kalyanasundaram
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Sri Aurobindo Foundation For Indian Culture (SAFIC) special lecture
>>>
>>> on Aug 03, 2019
>>> between 1600 and 1730 hrs
>>> at Sri Aurobindo Society,
>>> Ground Floor Hall,
>>> No. 11, St. Martin Street,
>>> Puducherry 605001.
>>>
>>> [image: Screen Shot 2019-07-24 at 10.47.21.png]
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>> .
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>
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Megh Kalyanasundaram
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Irene Galstian
On Friday, December 6, 2019 at 11:57:00 AM UTC, Megh Kalyanasundaram wrote:
On Tue, Aug 20, 2019, 1:51 PM Irene Galstian <gnos...@gmail.com> wrote:
This is great, Megh - thank you!
Irene
On 8/20/19, Megh Kalyanasundaram <kalyanasu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> SAFIC Youtube channel:
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFeaqNxDNYKQDFdeQe8znRg/videos
> Most recent update: (alteast) 3 days ago.
> For a subsequent talk
> <https://safic.in/safic-special-lecture-by-sandeep-balakrishna-august-10/>,
> it has been just announced
> <https://twitter.com/AUROSAFIC/status/1163659475527639041?s=20> that a
> video will be updated.
>
> Megh
>
> PS: I am not, in any way, affiliated with SAFIC (other than following their
> updates as and when I can). All information shared thus far are in the
> public domain.
>
> On Tue, Aug 20, 2019 at 1:37 PM Irene Galstian <gnos...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I hope that organisations realise that with very modest technology they
>> can make such lectures available to wider audiences. It’s difficult to
>> imagine a more win-win scenario: make your organisation known while
>> transmitting a valuable message.
>>
>> Irene
>>
>> On 20 Aug 2019, at 9:01 am, Megh Kalyanasundaram <
>> email to bvpar...@googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/0e68ab4f-26d6-45d7-a432-c8e3904e654e%40googlegroups.com
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/0e68ab4f-26d6-45d7-a432-c8e3904e654e%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>> .
>>
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>> .
>>
>
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