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SUMMARY:From Diophantine analysis to philology: Contextualizing C. G. J. J
 acobi’s late engagement with Diophantus’ text - Ivahn Smadja (Universi
 té de Nantes)
DTSTART:20250428T104500Z
DTEND:20250428T114500Z
UID:TALK230332@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:In the past decades\, a mid-1830s two-page paper by Carl Gusta
 v Jacob Jacobi on the use of elliptic and Abelian integrals in Diophantine
  analysis has offered a well-known case in point of conflicting interpreta
 tions in twentieth-century historiography. Hardly more than a note taking 
 stock of a shifting mathematical landscape\, this paper was originally mea
 nt as breaking new ground in mathematics at its peak\, rather than sheddin
 g light on its remote past. And yet\, it was much later used (and sometime
 s misused) as allegedly providing evidence that could be read both ways\, 
 whether as prefigurative of modern standard algebraic geometry\, or as pro
 viding presumably convenient tools for making sense of Diophantus&rsquo\; 
 ancient methods. As a rule\, though\, the current historiographic consensu
 s notoriously warns against unchecked anachronistic reconstructions\, whic
 h in turn prompts new questions.\nThis contribution aims at analyzing and 
 contextualizing C. G. J. Jacobi&rsquo\;s late engagement with Diophantus&r
 squo\; text against the backdrop of his previous mathematical work. Traine
 d in mathematics and classical philology\, Jacobi turned indeed to careful
 ly reading Diophantus in the 1840s\, chasing Greek manuscripts in European
  libraries from the Vatican to Wolfenbüttel. His approach\, however\, st
 rictly complied with prevailing philological standards\, never mixing high
 er mathematics with source criticism. At Alexander von Humboldt&rsquo\;s p
 ressing request\, Jacobi jotted down some thoughts on ancient mathematics 
 in general\, and Diophantus in particular. These reflections\, it will be 
 shown\, not only bear witness to Jacobi&rsquo\;s involvement in current de
 bates but also reveal his debt to Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann\, a 
 Diophantus scholar and a former K&ouml\;nigsberg student of his. They also
  cast light on the way Jacobi conceived the relationship between ancient a
 nd modern methods.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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