Abstract / Synopsis
In the manner of Apollonius of Perga, but hardly any modern book, we investigate conic sections as such. We thus discover why Apollonius calls a conic section a parabola, an hyperbola, or an ellipse; and we discover the meanings of the terms abscissa and ordinate. In an education that is liberating and not simply indoctrinating, the student of mathematics will learn these things.
DOI
10.5642/jhummath.201501.14
Recommended Citation
David Pierce, "Abscissas and Ordinates," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 5 Issue 1 (January 2015), pages 233-264. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.201501.14. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol5/iss1/14
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
