Descriptive geometry in England: lost in translation

Book chapter

Lawrence, S. 2019. Descriptive geometry in England: lost in translation. in: Barbin, É., Menghini, M. and Volkert, K. (ed.) Descriptive geometry, the spread of a polytechnic art: the legacy of Gaspard Monge Cham, Switzerland Springer. pp. 313-335
Chapter titleDescriptive geometry in England: lost in translation
AuthorsLawrence, S.
Abstract

This chapter looks at the history of descriptive geometry in England, and why here it had such a short, and not a very fulfilling life. Having arrived to England in the immediate aftermath of the wars between England and France, its translation and attempts to introduce it into the educational system happened only after the 1840s. The lack of direct, implicit knowledge of the original technique, and some aspects of mistranslation, meant that the technique was never properly understood. Descriptive geometry is still mainly regarded as a drawing, rather than a mathematical technique in England, and has not been practised since the end of the nineteenth century. Polytechnic schools in England were another short-lived phenomena, and only of any significance and showing similarity with the French model in the second half of the twentieth century.

KeywordsDescriptive geometry, Gaspard Monge, William Farish, Peter Nicholson, Orthographic projection, Isometric perspective, Parallel oblique projection, Curvilinear perspective
Research GroupMathematics, Education, Society, History
Page range313-335
Book titleDescriptive geometry, the spread of a polytechnic art: the legacy of Gaspard Monge
EditorsBarbin, É., Menghini, M. and Volkert, K.
PublisherSpringer
Place of publicationCham, Switzerland
SeriesInternational Studies in the History of Mathematics and its Teaching (ISHMT)
ISBN
Hardcover9783030148072
Electronic9783030148089
Publication dates
Online02 Jul 2019
Print25 Sep 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited02 Apr 2020
Accepted25 Sep 2018
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an chapter published in Descriptive geometry, the spread of a polytechnic art: The legacy of Gaspard Monge. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14808-9_18

Additional information

Series ISSN: 2524-8022

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14808-9_18
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/88ww6

Log in to edit

Download files

Accepted author manuscript
Descriptive_Geometry_England_August_2017.pdf
Descriptive Geometry England August 2017.docx

  • 55
    total views
  • 120
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 2
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

A little history of mathematics
Lawrence, S. 2025. A little history of mathematics. New York & London Yale University Press.
Mathematical meditations
Lawrence, S. 2025. Mathematical meditations. London & New York Taylor & Francis (Routledge).
Authenticity in learning, teaching and assessment
Masterson, B., Sharples, N., Jones, M., Megeney, A. and Lawrence, S. 2024. Authenticity in learning, teaching and assessment. MSOR Connections. 22 (2), pp. 29-36. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v22i2.1488
Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world
Lawrence, S., Megeney, A., Sharples, N., Masterson, B. and Jones, M. 2022. Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world. Uzdanica. XIX, pp. 17-28. https://doi.org/10.46793/Uzdanica19.S.017L
New Math and the South Slavs
Lawrence, S. 2023. New Math and the South Slavs. in: De Bock, D. (ed.) Modern Mathematics: An International Movement? Cham Springer. pp. 303–317
Book review: The new mathematics education of new Europe. Alexander Karp (Ed.) (2020) Eastern European mathematics education in the decades of change
Lawrence, S. 2023. Book review: The new mathematics education of new Europe. Alexander Karp (Ed.) (2020) Eastern European mathematics education in the decades of change. Educational Studies in Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-023-10269-2
Gersonides – translating divinity within the limits of knowledge
Lawrence, S. 2023. Gersonides – translating divinity within the limits of knowledge. in: Vestrucci, A. (ed.) Beyond Babel: Religion and Linguistic Pluralism Cham, Switzerland. Springer. pp. 215–226
Student video curation
Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Masterson, B., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2023. Student video curation. MSOR Connections. 21 (2), pp. 15-24. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v21i2.1403
Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy
Masterson, B., Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2023. Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy. MSOR Connections. 21 (2), pp. 44-51. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v21i2.1400
Student video curation
Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Masterson, B., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2022. Student video curation. CETL-MSOR Conference 2022. Abertay University, Dundee, UK 01 - 02 Sep 2022
Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy
Masterson, B., Megeney, A., Sharples, N., Lawrence, S. and Jones, M. 2022. Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy. CETL-MSOR Conference 2022. Abertay University, Dundee, UK 01 - 02 Sep 2022
Serbian mathematics education periodicals for the New Millennium
Lawrence, S. 2021. Serbian mathematics education periodicals for the New Millennium. ZDM – Mathematics Education. 53 (7), pp. 1555-1564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-021-01298-3
History of mathematics in education and history of mathematics education – mathematical education cultures. Special issue: Teaching innovations, Vol. 27 No. 3
Lawrence, S. 2014. History of mathematics in education and history of mathematics education – mathematical education cultures. Special issue: Teaching innovations, Vol. 27 No. 3. Teacher Education Faculty University of Belgrade.
The art and architecture of mathematics education: a study in metaphors
Lawrence, S. 2018. The art and architecture of mathematics education: a study in metaphors. Barbin, E., Jankvist, U., Kjeldsen, T. and Smestad, B. (ed.) Eight European Summer University (ESU 8). Oslo Metropolitan University 20 - 24 Jul 2018 Oslo Metropolitan University. pp. 515-530
The epistemology of mathematics in the digital age
Lawrence, S. 2014. The epistemology of mathematics in the digital age. Sinteza Conference. Begrade, Serbia 25 - 26 Apr 2014 Singidunum University. pp. 62-65 https://doi.org/10.15308/sinteza-2014-62-65
The history of the fourth dimension: a way of engaging pupils in secondary classrooms
Lawrence, S. 2015. The history of the fourth dimension: a way of engaging pupils in secondary classrooms. Krainer, K. and Vondrová, N. (ed.) CERME 9 - Ninth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education. Prague, Czech Republic 04 - 08 Feb 2015 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education and ERME. pp. 1846-1852
Learning new mathematics from old
Lawrence, S. 2018. Learning new mathematics from old. in: Clark, K., Kjeldsen, T., Schorcht, S. and Tzanakis, C. (ed.) Mathematics, education and history: Towards a harmonious partnership New York Springer International Publishing. pp. 367-382
The love affair with descriptive geometry: its history in Serbia
Jevtić-Novaković, K. and Lawrence, S. 2019. The love affair with descriptive geometry: its history in Serbia. in: Barbin, É., Menghini, M. and Volkert, K. (ed.) Descriptive Geometry, The Spread of a Polytechnic Art: The legacy of Gaspard Monge Cham, Switzerland Springer International Publishing. pp. 295-311
A theatre of mathematical history – a historical memoir
Lawrence, S. 2020. A theatre of mathematical history – a historical memoir. Teaching Innovations. 33 (1), pp. 123-135. https://doi.org/10.5937/inovacije2001124L
Birth of a theorem: a mathematical adventure by Cédric Villani (trans Malcolm DeBevoise, ill Claude Gongard). The Bodley Head, 2015, 272pp. [Book Review]
Lawrence, S. 2016. Birth of a theorem: a mathematical adventure by Cédric Villani (trans Malcolm DeBevoise, ill Claude Gongard). The Bodley Head, 2015, 272pp. [Book Review]. BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. 31 (3), pp. 263-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/17498430.2016.1208394
Book Review: the power of a great introduction. Karp, Alexander, Schubring, Gert (Eds.) (2014). Handbook on the history of mathematics education
Lawrence, S. 2016. Book Review: the power of a great introduction. Karp, Alexander, Schubring, Gert (Eds.) (2014). Handbook on the history of mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics. 92 (2), pp. 279-285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-016-9688-5
Review of “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles”: Lewis Carroll's Paradox of Inference, special issue of: The Carrollian: The Lewis Carroll Journal, edited by Amirouche Moktefi and Francine F Abeles
Lawrence, S. 2018. Review of “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles”: Lewis Carroll's Paradox of Inference, special issue of: The Carrollian: The Lewis Carroll Journal, edited by Amirouche Moktefi and Francine F Abeles. BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. 33 (3), pp. 194-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/17498430.2018.1472470
Mathematics education in the Balkan societies up to the WWI
Lawrence, S. 2014. Mathematics education in the Balkan societies up to the WWI. Teaching Innovations. 27 (3), pp. 46-57. https://doi.org/10.5937/inovacije1403046L
The old teacher Euclid: and his science in the art of finding one's mathematical voice
Lawrence, S. 2016. The old teacher Euclid: and his science in the art of finding one's mathematical voice. Menon: Journal of Educational Research.
Mihailo Petrović (1868-1943)
Lawrence, S. 2022. Mihailo Petrović (1868-1943). in: Furinghetti, F. and Giacardi, L. (ed.) The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, 1908-2008: A history through the portraits of its officers and leading figures New York Springer.
A new year's present from a mathematician
Lawrence, S. 2019. A new year's present from a mathematician. New York Chapman & Hall / CRC Press.
What are we like...
Lawrence, S. 2016. What are we like... in: Larvor, B. (ed.) Mathematical Cultures: the London meetings 2012-2014 Cham, Switzerland Birkhäuser. pp. 111-125
Capital G for geometry: Masonic lore and the history of geometry
Lawrence, S. 2015. Capital G for geometry: Masonic lore and the history of geometry. in: Lawrence, S. and McCartney, M. (ed.) Mathematicians and their gods: interactions between mathematics and religious beliefs Oxford, UK Oxford University Press (OUP). pp. 167-190
Life, architecture, mathematics, and the fourth dimension
Lawrence, S. 2015. Life, architecture, mathematics, and the fourth dimension. Nexus Network Journal. 17 (2), pp. 587-604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-014-0221-9
Developable surfaces: their history and application
Lawrence, S. 2011. Developable surfaces: their history and application. Nexus Network Journal. 13 (3), pp. 701-714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-011-0087-z