Euclid and His Modern Rivals

by Lewis Carroll

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Education, Science

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer.

His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense.

Oxford scholar, Church of England Deacon, University Lecturer in Mathematics and Logic, academic author of learned theses, gifted pioneer of portrait photography, colourful writer of imaginative genius and yet a shy and pedantic man, Lewis Carroll stands pre-eminent in the pantheon of inventive literary geniuses.

He also has works published under his real name.

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge math nerd, and even I thought this book was boring beyond belief. I plan on subjecting my Geometry class to parts of it.

[Becky Carlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carroll, the math teacher of great imagination has written a play containing early Greek kings petitioned by “modern” mathematicians that their treatment of Geometry is more complete than Euclid. An imaginative apologetic for Euclid, made less enjoyable by the fact I don’t know enough about Euclid and even less about Geometry. Something good to return to later!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty and cutting, a great read if you want to do a deeper dive into Carroll, or if you're interested in education theory or the history of mathematics instruction. Not a light book, and the witty amusing sections are equal to the math-heavy bits.

[Jake Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a cute dialogue championing Euclid's Elements -- and specifically his parallel postulate -- over then-contemporary alternative treatments. Anachronistic and dryly rigorous for 21st century pleasure reading.