MWF 1:00 - 1:50
Jones Hall 113
Pierre Clare
Office: 130 Jones Hall
Office Hours: Mondays 2pm - 3pm and by appointment.
Extensions may (and usually will) be granted if requested at least twenty-four hours before the due date.
Late homework will not be accepted.
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments are mandatory and will count towards the final course grade.
| Wk | Date | Topics and activities | Assignments |
| 1 | 08/29 | Introductions | |
| 08/31 | $\LaTeX$: first contact | Assignment 1, due 9/06 by 3pm on Blackboard | |
| 2 | 09/03 | Aristotelian logic: categorical propositions | |
| 09/05 | Aristotelian logic: syllogisms | ||
| 09/07 | Discussion of Assignment 1 | Assignment 2, due 9/13 by 3pm on Blackboard | |
| 3 | 09/10 | Propositional logic: truth tables | |
| 09/12 | No class | ||
| 09/14 | No class | ||
| 4 | 09/17 | Propositional logic: Modus ponens, equivalence | |
| 09/19 | Discussion of Assignment 2 | ||
| 09/21 | Associativity, de Morgan laws, tables in $\LaTeX$ | Assignment 3, due 9/27 by 3pm on Blackboard | |
| 5 | 09/24 | Numbers: geometric constructions and irrationality of $\sqrt{2}$ | |
| 09/26 | Numbers and magnitudes: the Pythagorean point of view | A Light Dance on the Dust of the Ages | |
| 09/28 | Irrational ratios | Assignment 4, due 10/08 by 3pm on Blackboard | |
| 6 | 10/01 | The language of set theory | |
| 10/03 | Sets and applications | ||
| 10/05 | Injections, surjections, examples | ||
| 7 | 10/08 | Bijections, equipotence | |
| 10/10 | Infinite sets | ||
| 10/12 | Achilles and the Tortoise | ||
| 8 | 10/15 | Fall break | Reading: Logicomix |
| 10/17 | Discussion of Assignment 4 | ||
| 10/19 | Construction of $\mathbb{Q}$ | ||
| 9 | 10/22 | Dichotomy paradoxes | Assignment 5, due 11/02 by 3pm on Blackboard |
| 10/24 | Atomic paradoxes | Assignment 6, due 10/29 by 3pm on Blackboard | |
| 10/26 | Defense of Parmenides | ||
| 10 | 10/29 | Dichotomy paradoxes | |
| 10/31 | Introduction to Beamer | ||
| 11/02 | Discussion of Assignment 6 - Final project | Outline of final project | |
| 11 | 11/05 | Library instruction session | Ford Classroom (Swem) |
| 11/07 | Mathematical genealogy - Bibliography in $\LaTeX$ | ||
| 11/09 | Individual meetings | ||
| 12 | 11/12 | Mathematics in Science | The unreasonable effectiveness of Mathematics |
| 11/14 | On B. Russell's view on Art and Mathematics | John Henry | |
| 11/16 | What is Mathematics? (After E. Wigner) | ||
| 13 | 11/19 | Mathematics and Physics | |
| 11/21 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| 11/23 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| 14 | 11/26 | Newton's Principia Mathematica | Scholium |
| 11/28 | Leibniz-Clarke correspondence | Excerpts | |
| 11/30 | Newton and Leibniz on space and time | Guest lecture by J. Binkoski | |
| 15 | 12/03 | Cognitive science and mathematics | Useful invention or absolute truth? |
| 12/05 | Individual meetings | ||
| 12/07 | Individual meetings |
The Honor Code applies to all activities related to this course. The Honor System is responsible for resolving any suspected violations of the Honor Code. Do not hesitate to ask the instructor beforehand if you have any questions as to whether some action would be compatible with the Honor Code.
Students with disabilities who will be taking this course and may need disability-related accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see their instructor as soon as possible.
William & Mary accommodates students with disabilities in accordance with federal laws and university policy. Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a learning, psychiatric, physical, or chronic health diagnosis should contact Student Accessibility Services staff at 757-221-2512 or at sas@wm.edu to determine if accommodations are warranted and to obtain an official letter of accommodation. For more information, please visit www.wm.edu/sas.