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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: The overlooked mathematicians of history

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Statue of Al Khwarizmi, a ninth century mathematician

28/10/2023 GMT

The overlooked mathematicians of history

BBC World Service - More or Less, The overlooked mathematicians of history

A global history of mathematics, from ancient China to the Middle East

A global history of mathematics, from ancient China to the mathematical powerhouse of the Middle East

Conventional histories of mathematics are dominated by well-known names like Pythagoras, Leibniz or Newton. But to concentrate solely on figures from Europe gives us only a patchwork understanding of the rich and varied history of mathematical achievement around the world.

Tim Harford speaks to Dr Kate Kitagawa, co-author of The Secret Lives of Numbers, to explore the long history of mathematical advances and innovation across civilisations and centuries, from the female mathematician at court in imperial China to the pioneers in the mathematical powerhouses of the Middle East in the first millennium AD. 

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound engineer: James Beard

(Photo: Statue of Al Khwarizmi, a ninth century mathematician. Credit: Mel Longhurst/Getty Images)

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