AIP 351 Mathematics without Boundaries (NP)
This course focuses on mathematics as the study of patterns, explains how mathematics represents physical world around us, explores the nature of mathematical knowledge, and identifies the key aspects of the evolution of mathematical thought. Upon completion of this course students will be able to analyze mathematical ideas from historical, philosophical and empirical perspectives, explore the areas where philosophy and mathematics meet, and answer the following questions: What is the nature of numbers? What is the meaning of zero and infinity? Do numbers and other mathematical entities exist independently of human cognition or is mathematics the product of the human mind? How mathematics describes all things: great and small? Are physical concepts of space, time and motion absolute or relative? Is our knowledge of reality unlimited or is there built in uncertainty, indeterminacy, and unpredictability to nature?
Prerequisite
MATH 113 or above, or permission of the Math department