This paper aims to consider the genesis of irrational numbers and to suggest a method for teaching the concept of irrational numbers. It is the notion of “incommensurability” in geometrical sense that makes Pythagoreans discover irrational numbers...
This paper aims to consider the genesis of irrational numbers and to suggest a method for teaching the concept of irrational numbers. It is the notion of “incommensurability” in geometrical sense that makes Pythagoreans discover irrational numbers. According to the historica-genetic principle, the teaching method suggested in this paper is based on the very concept, incommensurability which the school mathematics lacks. The basic ideas are induced from Clairaut's and Arcavi's.