A response to Babylonian Word Problems

 I think the idea of 'pure' vs 'applied' mathematics is an interesting one brought up in this chapter, as it also comes from a stance of '2020 vision'. As a student who has grown up with the benefits of history, the conceptualization of the mathematics was always readily available to me; I had to link abstractions and concepts together, but I never had to 'invent' mathematics for a population. This is echoed on page 8 that "Babylonian documents predate Greek ones by 1500 years and Babylonians may have been the first people in the world to conceive of mathematics as a unified and distinct area of study" (Gerofsky, 8). What was serviceable and needed at the time was an applicable sense of mathematics that could be used in day-to-day life. On top of that, they (potentially) needed to invent their own mathematical system, so their applications only needed to apply to their real-world. As we have progressed forward with math, we have seen the usage and need for such applications like algebra. We have benefited from the historical context and built upon their foundations to push beyond and question more abstractly. 

Eventually as technology also moved forward, there was need for more applicable mathematics than what the Babylonians provided; and the trend continues to this day. We use different formulas than the Greeks did because our technology has advanced; but their applications of real world mathematics was useful for their time. If used correctly, the use of word problems allows students to connect history and mathematics and create a relational understanding with the material and appreciate the struggles of those who designed the methods. I also think though that we need to find the connections between history and the word problems we do now. If we give a historical question, what are the applications we can give a student today where the application is still useful? Behind every question, there should be a purpose.