Homework for Monday Sept 21-- Read and respond : Some interesting resources on the (Babylonian-based) history of time calculations, base 60 and base 12

   

Here's an interesting piece from Scientific American on some of the origins of our ways of telling time.

And here is a good piece elaborating on the origins and uses of base 60 by Mesopotamian/ Babylonian mathematicians, from the excellent University of St. Andrews math history data base.

 YOUR HOMEWORK: Read and consider these two short articles on the ways we measure time, and discuss them in relation to your own personal experiences and geometries for thinking about a year (and a season, a month, an hour…) Think about any inconsistencies between the two articles, and any surprises that have you reconsidering how we measure time.