Number Theory is always interesting - I seem to recall someone saying
it was the Queen of Mathematics, although I really can't trust my
memory these days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_theory
which in turn has various subbranches, including one which was
involved in Fermat's Last Theorem. Also involved in crytography.
I always found spherical trig fun, but then, as a navigator I would,
but, as a subject it hasn't the glamour of the higher form of maths.
Once upon a time in the west, I dealt with Differential Geometry and
some of it's applications
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_geometry, but see also
manifolds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold) namely bezier curves
and surfaces. Bezier curves and it's relative B-splines and B-surfaces
use a mesh of control points and values to define curves and
surfaces. It is useful for designing surfaces for aircraft and cars.
It is fiendishly difficult and my poor brain almost melted trying to
understand it. Maybe thats where my memory went. Although, reading
wikipedia it all seems so delightfully clear and treacherously fun.
Roger
On 8/9/05, Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I'm wanting to pick the brains of the mathematically inclined on this list
> (as you all know, my brain is not a mathematical one). I'm presently
> writing the cod appendices for The Crow (Book 3 in the Pellinor series)
> which includes a brief essay on the culture of the Suderain, my fabulous
> Indo-Arabic-African-Japanese whatever society to the south of Annar (I
> realise that this will mean nothing to those who haven't read the books, but
> bear with me...)
>
> Anyway, my Suderain Bards, a fairly diverse people, are very sophisticated
> in the use of optics, and therefore great astronomers, theoreticians of
> complexity, possibly aware even of DNA, have a theory of evolution and a
> working theory of genetics, and so on.
>
> What I need is a couple of suggestions for advanced mathematical concepts
> that my Bards might have anachronistically theorised, that I can then twist
> and adapt for my own purposes to demonstrate how amazingly clever they were.
> Does this make any sense? Any help would be greatly appreciated and will be
> logged in my wonderful footnotes -
>
> Best
>
> A
>
>
> Alison Croggon
>
> Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
> Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
> Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
>
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