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Sylvia Nickerson, B.F.A., B.A., M.A.,਍ഀ Ph.D.

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Sessional Instructor, Institute for History and਍ഀ Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST), University of Toronto

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Sessional Instructor, Department of Mathematics and਍ഀ Statistics, McMaster University

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ABOUT

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I’m a historian of mathematics and਍ഀ science. This page is dedicated to my academic work. I also work as a਍ഀ professional artist. My artistic work can be found here at http://www.sylvianickerson.ca/. We਍ഀ can understand many things using mathematics. I enjoy going back to discover਍ഀ how people came to know tools and concepts we take for granted as canonical in਍ഀ mathematics. But some experiences we cannot understand with mathematics.਍ഀ Emotional states, narratives and identities are themes I explore in my artistic਍ഀ work.

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RESEARCH

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My research explores mathematics and਍ഀ science as forms of creative literature. I examine how mathematics and our਍ഀ perceptions about it are shaped by cultural imagination and material process in਍ഀ the same ways other written literatures have been. My interest in the history਍ഀ of mathematics reflects my personal connection to the field as a history of਍ഀ creative thought.

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ARTICLES & BOOK CHAPTERS

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(2023) “Marrying਍ഀ the radical, the conventional, and the mystical: Mathematics, gender and਍ഀ religion in the lives of William Kingdon and਍ഀ Lucy Lane Clifford,” Endeavour n.s.਍ഀ 47(4): 100901-100901. In special issue Calculating Couples: Domesticity਍ഀ and Gender in the Making of Mathematical Careers, edited by David E.਍ഀ Dunning and Brigitte Stenhouse.

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(2020) with Bernard Lightman and Parandis Tajbakhsh “From਍ഀ Conflict to Complexity: Historians and Nineteenth Century Public Perceptions of਍ഀ Science and Religion” in Identity in a Secular Age: Science,਍ഀ Religion and Public Perceptions, ed. Fern Elsdon-Baker਍ഀ and Bernard Lightman, University of Pittsburgh Press, p. 13-29.

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(2019) “Darwin’s Publisher: John਍ഀ Murray III at the intersection of science and religion” in Rethinking਍ഀ History, Science and Religion: An Exploration of Conflict and the Complexity਍ഀ Principle, ed. Bernard Lightman, University of Pittsburgh Press, p.਍ഀ 110-128.

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(2015) “Mathematics਍ഀ for the World: Publishing Mathematics and the International Book Trade,਍ഀ Macmillan and Co.” in Research in History and Philosophy of਍ഀ Mathematics, Proceedings of the Canadian Society for History and਍ഀ Philosophy of Mathematics, Maria Zack and Elaine Landry (eds),਍ഀ New York: Birkhauser, p. 121-137.

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(2013) “Referees,਍ഀ Publisher’s Readers and the Image of Mathematics in Nineteenth Century਍ഀ England” winner of the Peter Isaac Essay Prize, Publishing History 71:਍ഀ 27-67.

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(2013) “Taking਍ഀ a Stand: Exploring the role of the scientist prior to the first Pugwash਍ഀ Conference on Science and World Affairs, 1957” Scientia Canadensis 36:਍ഀ 63-87.

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(2008) “Russell,਍ഀ Clifford, Whitehead and Differential Geometry” with Nicholas਍ഀ Griffin, Russell: The Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies n.s. 28: 20-38.

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UPCOMING਍ഀ PRESENTATIONS 

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(2023) W.K. Clifford's਍ഀ Philosophical areligion informs his Algebra਍ഀ and Geometry (invited), Special Sessions on the History of Mathematics,਍ഀ Joint Mathematics Meetings of the American Mathematical Society and਍ഀ Mathematical Association of America, Boston

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(2022) Calculating Couples: W.K.਍ഀ and Lucy Clifford (invited), School of Mathematics and Statistics, The਍ഀ Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

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RESEARCH & TEACHING PUBLICITY

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My਍ഀ student won a prize! Shane Wang, who was my student in HPS411 Conceptual਍ഀ Foundations of Mathematics and HPS390 Mathematics up to 1700 got second place਍ഀ in the HOM-SIGMAA student paper contest!਍ഀ His work will be published in the Mathematical Association of America’s Convergence.Rread more about this achievement in “Undergraduate਍ഀ student Shane Wang wins second place in prestigious mathematics contest” by਍ഀ Dr. Pamela Fuentes Peralta, Recent News from IHPST, 21 August, 2024.

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Science journalist Dan Falk wrote about my਍ഀ research into John Murray III, the man who published Origin of Species as਍ഀ well as many of Darwin’s other works. One might assume Murray was a਍ഀ naturalist looking to displace natural theology as the dominant worldview, but਍ഀ I contend this was not the case. “Darwin’s publisher਍ഀ didn’t believe in evolution, but sold his revolutionary book anyway,” by Dan਍ഀ Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, February 12, 2020, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-darwins-publisher-changed-worlddespite-his-own-objections-180974189/.਍ഀ An amateur geologist himself, Murray wrote a very interesting anonymous book਍ഀ under the pseudonym Verifier, the title being Skepticism in਍ഀ Geology and the Reasons for It. In this book he argued that so-called਍ഀ modern causes (those justifying Lyell’s uniformitarian view of geology,਍ഀ for instance) have no validity. He did not embrace the modern scientific਍ഀ worldview, and in fact, worked against the public adoption of this worldview in਍ഀ his publication ventures.

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EDITORIAL PROJECTS

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(2020-2023) Editor, Canadian Society for਍ഀ History and Philosophy of Mathematics Bulletin. Responsible for਍ഀ writing, collecting and assembling member਍ഀ and society news, editorials and event listings pertaining to history of਍ഀ mathematics for this biannual publication.

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(2014-2017) Editorial Assistant, The਍ഀ Correspondence of John Tyndall (University of Pittsburgh਍ഀ Press). John Tyndall was an English experimental physicist, scientific਍ഀ naturalist, public figure and popularizer of science, avid glacier explorer and਍ഀ mountain climber in the nineteenth century. Among the 7000 letters published in਍ഀ this multi-volume, multi-year editorial project, I transcribed and edited more਍ഀ than 400. Attending bi-weekly editorial team meetings, I helped shape the਍ഀ project’s digital strategy, managed research assistants, wrote scripts about਍ഀ the Tyndall project and edited images for vols. 2-5.

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COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

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(2014-2017) Postdoctoral Research਍ഀ Fellowship, Science and Religion: Exploring਍ഀ the Spectrum, under the direction of co-Principal Investigators Bernard਍ഀ Lightman and Fern Elsdon-Baker

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TEACHING

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I teach courses in history of mathematics਍ഀ and science, science communication, data visualization and creativity at਍ഀ University of Toronto and McMaster University.

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MAT਍ഀ 391 History of Mathematics after 1700 \ HPS 391 Rebels Who Count: The਍ഀ History of Mathematics from 1700 to the Present (IHPST, University of Toronto)

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This਍ഀ cross-listed course in the Faculty of Arts and Science begins with history of਍ഀ mathematics after the invention of calculus. The course focuses on exploring਍ഀ the growth and increasing abstraction of mathematics in the modern period.਍ഀ Topics we cover are how to apply philosophical positions about mathematics to਍ഀ think about history, invention of the function concept, infinite series,਍ഀ invention of graph theory, complex numbers, standardization of units and਍ഀ measures, mathematical education, recreations and games, projective and਍ഀ non-Euclidean geometry, invention of set theory, history of computing, ethics਍ഀ in mathematics, gender in history of mathematics and diversity in STEM, open਍ഀ problems in math today.

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MAT਍ഀ 390 History of Mathematics up to 1700 \ HPS 390 The Story of Number:਍ഀ Mathematics from the Babylonians to the Scientific Revolution (IHPST,਍ഀ University of Toronto)

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This਍ഀ cross-listed course in the Faculty of Arts and Science surveys the earliest਍ഀ record of human counting up to the invention਍ഀ of calculus.  The course explores how numeracy, like language, is a਍ഀ fundamental feature of human activity as we explore the invention of numerals਍ഀ and counting systems in various global cultures and contexts. From there we਍ഀ explore the beginnings of geometry and algebra, solution to indeterminate਍ഀ equations, how observing the stars motivated the development of right triangle਍ഀ theory and trigonometry, the invention of different number concepts (including਍ഀ zero, negative numbers, complex numbers, irrational numbers, algebraic and਍ഀ transcendental numbers), methods of proof and justification, what constitutes਍ഀ plagiarism in mathematics and history of mathematics, birth of probability and਍ഀ invention of calculus.

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MATH਍ഀ 3Z03 Inquiry — History of Mathematics (Department of Mathematics and਍ഀ Statistics, McMaster University)

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The course਍ഀ starts with the observation that numeracy, like language, is a feature of human਍ഀ activity from the earliest known evidence of human life. From there we go਍ഀ through a selection of developments in different cultures and contexts from਍ഀ ancient times to the present day. Some of the topics we cover in this class are਍ഀ numeracy in ancient civilizations, Greek geometric methods including਍ഀ quadrature, the classic problems of antiquity, Euclid’s Elements,਍ഀ Archimedes on areas and volumes, problems and methods from the ancient Chinese਍ഀ text The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical਍ഀ Art , Brahmagupta’s invention of zero and solution to the Pell਍ഀ equation, completing the square with al-Khwarizmi, Cardano’s solution਍ഀ of the cubic equation, Pascal’s arithmetical triangle and proof by਍ഀ induction, infinite series and calculus, the beginnings of graph theory,਍ഀ invention of set theory, history of computing, the four-colour਍ഀ theorem and proof by computer, gender in the history of mathematics and਍ഀ diversity in STEM.

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HTHSCI਍ഀ 3KK3 Seeing and Understanding Data (Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster਍ഀ University)

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Good਍ഀ visualization can achieve quick and accurate understanding of significant data.਍ഀ Bad visualization can lead to misleading the public and misunderstanding਍ഀ research results. This course mines the history and philosophy of statistics਍ഀ and data visualization for lessons and strategies applicable to future careers਍ഀ in science and health science. By reflecting on the evolution of the tools we਍ഀ use to sample, measure and model data, this course develops critical thinking਍ഀ and reflection on how we apply these tools in epidemiology and health sciences਍ഀ today.

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SCICOMM਍ഀ 2A03 Foundations of Science Communication (School of Interdisciplinary Science,਍ഀ McMaster University)

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How do਍ഀ scientists make sure their work in the lab or਍ഀ the field is put to good use in communities? They communicate it to their਍ഀ peers, policymakers and the public. In this਍ഀ course students learn and practice the basics of effective written visual and਍ഀ oral science communication through creating lay summaries, graphics and oral presentations as well as audience਍ഀ profiles and communication proposals. We conduct study and critique how science਍ഀ is covered in the media past and present, and explore਍ഀ the growing field of science communication research. Students gain experience਍ഀ with a wide range of science communication activities and explore ways they can਍ഀ apply their scientific knowledge and education in various career trajectories.

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VIC਍ഀ 259H Math and Creativity (Victoria College, University of Toronto)

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This course਍ഀ explores the history of mathematics while building skill in narrative story-telling and image creation to reimagine the origin of਍ഀ mathematical ideas in accessible and compelling ways. We explode history and਍ഀ ideas, unpacking concepts in history and mathematics to weave compelling਍ഀ narratives using fresh perspectives and representations. Course topics include਍ഀ the concept of infinity, quantification of uncertainty, space and geometry,਍ഀ pattern and self-similarity, lives of mathematicians and historical਍ഀ controversies in mathematics. Students are encouraged to build unique਍ഀ narratives that incorporate or expand upon course topics. Examples of graphic਍ഀ storytelling will be presented for identification of effective narrative਍ഀ techniques and visual styles. Aspects of mathematics and its history are਍ഀ analyzed to enable the retelling, reframing, and re-visioning of the past from਍ഀ the perspective of the present and student’s own voices. Students acquire਍ഀ skills in media creation tools while exploring how narratives and images਍ഀ describe and structure our world.

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VIC391H1਍ഀ Independent Study in Creative Non-Fiction Storytelling (Victoria College,਍ഀ University of Toronto)

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In this਍ഀ independent study course students develop skills in the composition of਍ഀ creative non-fiction works, learning to inform non-fiction storytelling with਍ഀ knowledge arising from embodied experience and evidence-based research.਍ഀ Students develop knowledge translation skills such that the works produced by਍ഀ the student accurately reflect and communicate up to date research in the਍ഀ non-fiction topic of the student’s choosing. Creative non-fiction storytelling਍ഀ is useful in translating expert knowledge to a specific public by removing਍ഀ barriers (jargon, use of statistics, dry third-person language) from research,਍ഀ making evidence-based knowledge digestible for a lay audience.

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HPS211਍ഀ History of Modern Science (IHPST, University of Toronto)

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Drawing on਍ഀ episodes in the history of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and the਍ഀ human sciences, this course examines conceptual changes in the practice of਍ഀ modern science in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By investigating the਍ഀ conditions that gave rise to key elements of modern science including਍ഀ evolutionary theory, modern genetics, and the shift from a Newtonian to਍ഀ relativistic understanding of space and time, students assess the impact of਍ഀ major conceptual revolutions in science on contemporary society and culture.਍ഀ Social and ethical issues surrounding these changes are explored, such as਍ഀ science and gender, the scientific study of race, and the making of the atomic਍ഀ bomb. 

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TRIUMPHS਍ഀ PROJECTS

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Instructors in਍ഀ the mathematics and history of mathematics community have been involved for਍ഀ several years in a National Science Foundation funded project to write਍ഀ curriculum materials for undergraduate mathematics courses in which concepts਍ഀ are investigated using primary historical sources. Not all the projects are਍ഀ appropriate for history of mathematics courses, but several are and can be਍ഀ adapted for this purpose. Checkout TRIUMPHS: Transforming਍ഀ Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources. I਍ഀ have been using these projects in my courses as well as projects developed਍ഀ earlier from Learning Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science via਍ഀ Primary Historical Sources.

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ART AND਍ഀ MATHEMATICS

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A current਍ഀ interest is how I can apply what I know from my work in graphic arts to present਍ഀ and communicate history of mathematics in new and exciting ways. Mathematical਍ഀ objects illustrated below include Napier’s bones, spiral defined by the golden ratio,਍ഀ Hindu-Arabic numerals, Cardano’s cube for਍ഀ algebraic solution to the cubic equation, sinusoidal function, Coxeter graph, Armillary sphere,਍ഀ Pascal’s arithmetical triangle, diagrammatic proof of the gou gu theorem਍ഀ (Pythagorean theorem in China), Fibonacci’s rabbit breeding problem, and a਍ഀ sphere.

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