What Do You Need a Mathematician For? Perspectives from the 17th Century - Volker Remmert

In the early modern period, it was common practice to praise the mathematical sciences, a typical example being Martinus Hortensius’ Inauguration Speech on the Dignity and the Usefulness of the Mathematical Sciences (Amsterdam 1634).

This lecture explains how "mathematical sciences" were understood in the 17th century, before exploring the arguments which were used to advocate for the use of the mathematical sciences, using visual materials such as title engravings of 17th century publications. Can previous answers to the question “What do you need a mathematician for?” help us understand our need for mathematicians today?

This lecture was recorded by Volker Remmert on the 7th of October 2026

Volker Remmert has been trained as mathematician and historian. He teaches history of science and technology at the University of Wuppertal, Germany.

His research interests are in the history of early modern science, with a focus on the mathematical sciences (Picturing the Scientific Revolution: Title Engravings in Early Mo­dern Scientific Publications, Philadelphia 2011), and in the history of mathematics in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries (with Ute Schneider: Eine Disziplin und ihre Ver­le­ger – Disziplinenkultur und Publika­tionswesen der Mathematik in Deutschland, 1871-1949, Bielefeld 2010).

He has recently co-edited volumes on the history early modern science (with Julia Ellinghaus: Manipulating the Sun: Picturing Astronomical Miracles from the Bible in the Early Modern Era, Leiden 2024, with Jeanne Peiffer: A Cultural History of Mathematics in the Early Modern Age, vol. 3 of the Bloomsbury Cultural History of Mathematics, London 2024) and, together with Maria Remenyi, on the early workshops at the Mathematical Research Institute Oberwolfach (https://doi.org/10.14760/978-3-00-082798-3).

The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/what-mathematician

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