Aesthetic appeal and utility of Vedic mathematics: An introduction
From Firenze University Press Journal: Aisthesis
Laura Aimo, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Mathematics and aesthetics are closely intertwined (Sinclair, Pimm, Higginson [2010]; Breitenbach, Rizza [2018]; Ivanova, French [2020]). Not only mathematical concepts, relationships and theo-rems can, within themselves, be aesthetically pleasing, but often we also find mathematical results and connections arising through men-tal reasoning in harmony with the order and patterns found in the world around us, and we like that. Yet, apart from rare exceptions, the beauty of doing mathematics is mostly unrecognised: this science rarely meets the favour of students. Reason is often inherent in the teaching of the discipline which presents it as a pure mechanism, a perfect and complete construction, to which one must submit and in which it is difficult to see the possibility of choice and play, discovery and art: «By concentrating on what, and leaving out why, mathematics is reduced to an empty shell» and there is no chance for having and developing an individual «mathematical taste» [Lockhart [2009]).Vedic mathematics is an approach which encapsulates the enjoyment and power of mathematics, not only in the sphere of thought process, but also in its practical utility. It highlights and develops the aesthetic dimension of learn-ing in a very immediate sense enabling even non-professionals to perceive themselves as protagonists in a continuous and creative process of problem-solving. Its characteristics are applicable to primary and high school students, to undergraduate students of STEM subjects and to professions requiring a high degree of mathematical content such as in computer coding, finance, insurance, engineering, scientific research, and the like. The aim of this article is to introduce Vedic mathematics — what it is and how it works — to give comparative examples of techniques and their efficacy, and to emphasise the aesthetic experience it provides, in particular from a pedagogical point of view.
- ON THE ORIGIN
Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha (1884–1960) was born in Tinnevely, near Chennai, in Southwest India. Throughout his school and university career he stood out for his memory and brilliant talent in various disciplines: Sanskrit, Philosophy, Math-ematics, English, History and Science. In 1911 he retired from teaching to devote himself to spiritual research and advanced study of Vedanta philoso-phy following the Shankaracarya1 of Sringeri, in Mysore. This included in-depth studies of ancient Indian mathematics from various published and unpublished resources. In 1925 he himself obtained the position of Shankaracarya, continu-ing to deepen and teach Advaita, a Sanskrit word which simply means «not two» and indicates the essence of ancient Vedic teachings: the philoso-phy of unity. Before he died, he left an introduc-tory illustrative manuscript to Vedic mathematics which was published posthumously five years later (Bharati Krishna Tirtha [1965]). At that time, in London, the School of Economic Science — now called School of Philosophy and Economic Science — became deeply involved in learning and understanding Advaita and its practical application, and this included Bharati Krishna Tirtha’s volume. With reference to math-ematics, the Vedic approach draws on both the conscious experience of mathematical activity as well as the objects of mathematical concepts. The effect of this is to reveal the humanising element so that, for example, the experience of calculation is just as important as the result of calculation. This gives a unifying quality to both the objects and the conscious activity, but at the same time it constitutes an overturning of the common West-ern habits and way of thinking.Groups of adult teachers and researchers spent many sessions learning the Vedic approach with the aim of understanding and utilising the system. A season of interest and research com-menced with Jeremy Pickles, Andrew Nicholas and Kenneth Williams (who runs the online Vedic Maths Academy) and a little later, James Glover (now Chairman of the Institute for the Advance-ment of Vedic Mathematics). Through exacting study of the Shankaracarya’s book, together with studying Advaita philosophy and, most importantly, practising and reflecting on the techniques, those involved began to understand the scope and potency of the approach. They pointed out that not only does it pro-vide highly efficient and flexible methods, both numerical and algebraic, but also sets out a substratum for mathematical thinking: this under-lying way of thinking was expressed by Bharati Krishna Tirtha through a relatively small number of aphorisms or word formulae called sutras.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Aisthesis-14287
Read Full Text: https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/aisthesis/article/view/14287
