Prof Norman Biggs

This course is available on the BSc in Actuarial Science, BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Mathematics and Economics, BSc in Mathematics with Economics and BSc in Statistics with Finance. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course is available with permission to General Course students.

MA100 or its equivalent.

This course surveys the development of mathematics from the beginning of history with an emphasis on its applications to finance and economics. Major themes are the development of arithmetic and geometry, the use of algebraic symbolism, the creation of the calculus, geometry, probability, and game theory. In order to give this course a distinctive flavour, we will illustrate these themes with examples taken from the social sciences, broadly interpreted. For example, the algorithms of arithmetic will be illustrated by their applications in finance, rather than astronomy.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the LT. 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of classes in the ST.

Students are expected to solve exercises on a weekly basis and occasionally present these solutions in class. Students must also submit one essay of 1000-1200 words.

The recommended text for the core of this course is J. Fauvel and J. Gray, The History of Mathematics: A Reader (Macmillan 1987). Also there will be a full course pack of excerpts from various authors.

Exam (70%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (30%, 1650 words) in the ST.