Overview

Perhaps more than any other scientific subject, mathematics seems to depend upon individual genius and moments of inspiration. Mathematical theorems and concepts are even named after their discoverers. But in fact, mathematical research did not begin to flourish until the sixteenth century, when reliable communication networks helped support an international community of like-minded scholars who stimulated each other's work through the exchange of ideas and the spirit of competition. A dynamic balance between individual discovery and communal validation characterizes mathematics to this day.

Background

The invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century gave an enormous boost to the field of mathematics. While the great mathematical works of antiquity had been preserved in Europe, they were often studied through incomplete manuscripts, and advances to algebra, trigonometry, and geometry made in Islamic countries during the Middle Ages were little known. There...