I am surprised that people used to highly value music as a critical aspect of education. According to the article, Greek and Roman educators all include music as a foundation of higher education. Nowadays, the music turns to become a hobby and is more regarded as an art that is barely related to mathematics. Thanks to the reading, I now rethink the relationship between music and mathematics.
The second surprise for me is that how little mathematical knowledge is required to complete a master’s degree back in the day. Also, the contents are limited to the study of Euclid. Currently, most university students are required to at least have some sense of calculus and broader and complex topics such as matrix and complex numbers are discussed.
The third surprising thing is Recorde’s method of multiplication. I did not know this method before and it is interesting to think that this could be the origin of the multiplying symbol. I appreciate the author also includes the algebraic justification of this method. I would like to introduce this kind of mathematical trick to students in my teaching.
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