Title:

Imagination and geometry: the case of Monge

Astract:

In this presentation, I will address the problem of the role of imagination in mathematics, drawing on the historical case of Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) and his famous descriptive geometry. I will take two examples: (1) Monge's first lecture course at the Normal School of 1795, where he tried to explain to students what is simplicity in mathematics, and (2) the training of instructors at the Polytechnic School, in the autumn of 1794, where he applied descriptive geometry to solve the problem of Apollonius (how to construct circles tangent to three given circles).

Location:

KdVI meeting room, room F3.20