Culture, history and language · Perspectives

Is mathematics the same in every culture?

Different civilisations counted in different bases, used different notations and valued different problems, yet often reached the same results. This question asks whether mathematics is universal, cultural, or both at different levels.

Claims

The results are universal: a proof of Pythagoras' theorem works the same in any language or culture.
Independent discovery of the same results in different places suggests mathematics is not merely cultural.

Counterclaims

What counts as a problem worth solving, what counts as a proof and how results are written down have varied widely between cultures.
Calling one tradition 'mathematics' and others 'folk practice' reflects historical power rather than the nature of knowledge.

Real-life situations from mathematics

Base 60 and base 20

Babylonian mathematicians used a base-60 system, which survives in 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a full turn. The Maya used a base-20 system with a symbol for zero.

The Kerala school

Mathematicians in Kerala, India, beginning with Madhava (about 1340–1425), found infinite series for π and for trigonometric functions about two centuries before similar series were published in Europe by Gregory and Leibniz.

Check dates and figures in a reliable source before you use them, and cite that source.

Use this in your TOK work

Essay. Fits titles about culture, universality and perspectives.

Exhibition. A clock face is a simple, clever object for this question: it carries Babylonian mathematics into every classroom.

Link it to the prescribed title or the exhibition prompt you are working on, in your own words. See using maths examples in your essay and choosing exhibition objects.

Themes and study heading

Knowledge and indigenous societies Knowledge and language Perspectives

Different views of what mathematics is and whose it is.