The classical origin of modern mathematics

TL;DR

This paper investigates the historical development and spatial distribution of mathematical ideas by analyzing a large, multi-century database of academic relationships, affiliations, and research topics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive database of advisor-student relationships spanning centuries and analyzes the evolution of countries and disciplines in mathematics.

Findings

Countries' influence in mathematics has shifted over centuries.

Discipline prominence has evolved with historical trends.

Network analysis reveals interconnectedness of research topics.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the historical evolution of mathematical thinking and its spatial spreading. To do so, we have collected and integrated data from different online academic datasets. In its final stage, the database includes a large number (N~200K) of advisor-student relationships, with affiliations and keywords on their research topic, over several centuries, from the 14th century until today. We focus on two different topics, the evolving importance of countries and of the research disciplines over time. Moreover we study the database at three levels, its global statistics, the mesoscale networks connecting countries and disciplines, and the genealogical level.