The Arithmetic of Medieval Studies


From this week's reading, my main takeaways are the following:

1. The Romans rejected many of the mathematical ideas that interested the Greeks because what the Greeks focused on was too impractical. This can be explained by some of the cultural or social differences between the Romans and Greeks, where the author mentioned that Romans enter 'adulthood' sooner than Greeks, and thus the skills acquired during the early education years would not be the same across societies. Even today, what children are required to learn in one place may differ from those who grew up in another part of the world.

2. There is confusion regarding the terms "logic" and "logistics", particularly concerning their practicality and functionality. From my own understanding, I have always separated their meanings without considering if there is a possible connection. As stated in the article, logistics deals with numerable objects, and it was considered a study for slaves, whereas logic was a liberal art.

3. Students in the Middle Ages were obliged to "hear" certain books, and there was no such thing as examinations to assess learning. Instead, they were required to participate in public disputations, and this method of teaching has been mentioned by several literary works from Europe that are still popular today to highlight certain aspects of history.

Comments

  1. Susan GerofskyDecember 26, 2019 at 2:28 PM

    Thanks Jackson. You have focused on a few disparate ideas without drawing them together in any way. A more in-depth consideration of the ideas would be better, but this is ok.

    ReplyDelete

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