Mathematical questions: a convergence of mathematical practices in British journals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Q2928240)

The paper traces the `questions and answers' genre in British journals from its beginning at the turn of the 18th century to 1918 when ``Mathematical Questions'' disappeared from the ``Educational Times''. ``The persistence and wide appeal of this genre can be attributed to a convergence of two practices: one, an avocational, pattern-solving tradition \((\dots)\), and the other, a taste and training for problem solving \((\dots)\) that infilterated all levels of British education during the 19th century''. Analysis is supported by three case studies and completed by ``contemporary evaluation of the genre and a brief overview of the presence of this genre internationally'', that is, in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, and India. Characterizing the genre in Britain the author concludes: ``Mathematics was discussed in a lively, competitive atmosphere, where contributors and editors pursued mathematics side by side. Converging practices brought the academic and avocational mathematical spheres in contact \((\dots)\).'' An interesting and stimulating paper.