I absolutely loved this Lecture! There is no other way to say. I enjoyed Dr. Burger and his enthusiasm for numbers and mathematics. He was very entertaining and gave a fabulous presentation about numbers.
I understand the disclaimer he gave at the beginning of the lecture stating that it is probable that at some of the information and stories are mostly true. But even then, I couldn't help but believe what he was presenting! I found it fascinating that it is very possible for literature, language, science and other subjects to stem from simply people learning to count. It made complete sense to me how the ancient people may have counted and how that lead from impressions in clay, and more detailed drawings, to writing and the development of our numbers today. I also found it fascinating that the Latin word for pebble is calculi. It makes so much sense!
As the lecture progressed, I found it more difficult to follow him. For some reason I did not quite make the connection between numbers and space. I think I may have missed some of what he said. But for most of the lecture I was glued to what he was saying about the possible future of numbers. I enjoyed it so much that I am convinced of the importance of the history of mathematics. As much as time and curriculum will allow, I am going to make sure that I add some history to my mathematics classes when I head off to teach.
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