Crest of the Peacock: Reflection

This text brought forward the importance of seeing math through a historical lens. I am used to seeing conflict through this historical lens and am therefore used to examining my bias. I know that the genocide of indigenous culture was a history written by the victors. I know that Africa had a rich culture before European subjugation, and my knowledge of African culture is written by the victors.

All my experience with historical bias is about devaluing cultures. I have not spent much time evaluating the bias in devaluing the impact of other cultures on an abstract institution such as math.

The most impactful part of this reading was seeing the traditional Eurocentric view of math’s trajectory vs a more global perspective on the subject. It was only after seeing the two diagrams that I realized how non-sensical the idea of a “dark age” was. It was almost like reading propaganda, “European maths are so fundamental that the entire global production of knowledge shut down.”

I am excited that this course takes down my pre-conceived notions that were instilled during my formative years. I am also excited to stop these biases from being transmitted to the next generation of learners during my career.