What is Stoicheia Math?
Stoicheia Math is an ongoing educational project designed to make classical math curriculum resources available and accessible to teachers and students of Christian schools. Because classical education is defined by its content, a classical math education should be influenced by (and should even include the reading of) the great mathematical writings of history.
Currently, Stoicheia Math offers one resource, a modern edition of Introduction to Arithmetic by Nicomachus of Gerasa, built for classroom use and intended as a supplement for high school students. It is available to download for free from this site.
Why Study Primary Math Texts?
I have compiled this free, modern edition of Introduction to Arithmetic to encourage schools (especially high schools) to use primary math texts in the classroom. Mathematics is not just method and algorithm; in fact, it really isn’t those things at all. Mathematics is, first and foremost, the art of knowing the beauty and order of creation through number.
Number is, as Nicomachus states, “in the mind of god.” Unlike Nicomachus, Christians know this God in the person of Jesus Christ. Number is inherent in the way Christ holds the universe together, so to know what number is and what the relations are between numbers (not just how or why to use them) is imperative for a Christian mathematics education. Although modern math textbooks are good for several things (a structured elementary understanding of the current body of mathematics, number skills important for everyday life and future mathematical occupation), they also necessarily obscure the what of mathematics to accomplish their structure.
Primary math texts, on the other hand, exist within a rich history—a history which, although messy and unfinished, tackles the what of mathematics head-on. When we see giants of mathematical history like Nicomachus deal with the big questions of math, we learn how to better pursue the answers ourselves.
Introduction to Arithmetic is one such historical writing. Its writer, Nicomachus of Gerasa (c. 60–c. 120 AD) was a Greek mathematician highly influenced by both Pythagorean and Platonist philosophies. This work is a treatise on what numbers are, how they interact with each other, and how they are an integral part of nature rather than an invention of man. Introduction to Arithmetic is to Greek arithmetic what Euclid’s Elements is to Greek geometry: a potent summary of how people of the West perceived this branch of mathematics for centuries.
This writing is, in my opinion, a gold nugget for schools, because many primary math texts are quite lengthy and complex, requiring higher mathematical understanding than the average high schooler may have. Introduction to Arithmetic, on the other hand, needs little to no watering down for a well-read teenager to pick up and read, or at least to follow along with his teacher.
My hope is that this classroom edition of Introduction to Arithmetic makes more readily available to teachers and students one more beautiful piece of mathematical history and philosophy.
Please enjoy studying this cornerstone of mathematical history!
– Nathanael Hahn, creator of Stoicheia Math