Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Ethnomathematics in Africa

TED | Talks | Ron Eglash: African fractals, in buildings and braids (video)


I know Brian Eno says there's not enough Africa in computers but , you know, I don't think there's enough African history in Brian Eno (13:55-14:01)
Eglash's attitude is quite representative of cultural awareness and an anthropological interest in diversity.
A math friend of mine tells me that Eglash is mostly describing recursion, and recursion is at the centre of a large body of research in cognitive sciences, these days. Fascinating that one could bridge disciplinary gaps between cultural anthropology, African studies, cognitive sciences, and mathematics.

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