Award: George Pólya

Year of Award: 1990

Publication Information: The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 20, No. 4, (1989), pp. 282-300

Summary: A history of the excitement and challenge that some of the best methematicians of all time confronted in trying to express the concept of the function.

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About the Author: (from The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 20, No. 4, (1989)) Israel Kleiner received his Ph.D. in ring theory at McGill University, and has been at York University for over twenty years. He has been involved in teacher education at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has given numerous talks to high school students and teachers. One of his major interests is in the history of mathematics and its use in the teaching of mathematics.