Logarithms: Brief History and Brief Math (VIDEO!)

Through a quirk in historical development we are stuck with the word “logarithm” for a concept that is actually extremely straightforward. The scariness of the word is enough to scare one and all and life would be easier if we used the proper word for them. In this lecture I demystify the world of logarithms and explain what they really are. (I also outline their history.)

[A second video deals with their mathematics more deeply.]

Logarithms: Brief History and Brief Mathematics

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  Written for educators - and their students too! - this website, slowly growing, takes all the content Tanton has developed in his books, videos, and workshops, and organizes it into short, self-contained, and complete, curriculum units proving that mathematics, at all points of the school curriculum, can be joyous, fresh, innovative, rich, deep-thinking, and devoid of any rote doing! Let's teach generations of students to be self-reliant thinkers, willing to flail and to use their common sense to "nut their way" through challenges, to assess and judge results, and to adjust actions to find success. (Great life skills!)

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• Books

  • Thinking Mathematics! (TEN VOLUMES)
  • Solve This: Mathematical Activities for Students and Clubs
  • Encyclopedia of Mathematics
  • Geometry I & II

• Get in touch

  Email: tanton.math@gmail.com