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Problems from Another Time

Individual problems from throughout mathematics history, as well as articles that include problem sets for students.

Regular Languages and Finite Automata
A finite automaton can be considered as the simplest machine model in that the machine has a finite memory; that is, the memory size is independent of the input length.
Networks and Spanning Trees
Project in which graph theory, combinatorics, or computer science students learn about labeled trees and minimal spanning trees by studying original papers of Cayley, Prufer, and Boruvka
Gabriel Lamé’s Counting of Triangulations
Project in which upper-level discrete math and combinatorics students count triangulations along with Lame and discover the Catalan numbers
Figurate Numbers and Sums of Numerical Powers: Fermat, Pascal, Bernoulli
A project to help students learn connections between sums of powers and binomial coefficients from writings of Fermat, Pascal, and Bernoulli
Applications of Boolean Algebra: Claude Shannon and Circuit Design
Project in which discrete mathematics students apply boolean algebra to circuit design by studying Shannon's original paper on the subject
Boolean Algebra as an Abstract Structure: Edward V. Huntington and Axiomatization
Project in which students develop the 'algebra of logic' along with E. V. Huntington, who built on the work of Boole
Origins of Boolean Algebra in the Logic of Classes: George Boole, John Venn and C. S. Peirce
Project in which students are introduced to set operations, Venn diagrams, and Boolean algebra by Boole, Venn, and Peirce
Computing the Determinant Through the Looking Glass
Project in which students learn a simple and efficient way to compute determinants from a paper of Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)
An Introduction to Elementary Set Theory
Project in which discrete mathematics students learn the basics of set theory by reading original works of Cantor and Dedekind
An Introduction to Symbolic Logic
Project in which discrete mathematics students learn the basics of symbolic logic by reading selections from Russell and Whitehead's Principia Mathematica

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