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
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