The art of counting
Mathematics is certainly not limited to "performing calculations on numbers". However, the problem of counting objects is more stimulating than it seems: can we count everything exactly, or at least approximately? Is it useful to have a precise numerical value, or is an estimate sufficient? In each situation, the mathematical techniques used will be different: enumerations, combinatorial reasoning, algebraic tools, set bijections. To count a population, one will prefer statistics, models, estimators. Counting is no small feat!
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Counting to exist: the political uses of... | Tangente
Counting seems straightforward enough: you count what is there. Nothing could be more childlike... or so it seems. Yet counting entails highly significant political choices and can serve extremely important economic, social and even identity-related purposes.
Making counting easier | Tangente
Counting the elements of certain sets is not always straightforward. In the last century, William Burnside, a mathematician specializing in group theory, established a result that simplifies the calculation of the number of objects in certain finite sets.
Counting squirrels and other wild animals
By definition, wild animals cannot be counted systematically and exhaustively: it is difficult to warn them that a census taker will be calling at their home next Monday! This is where statistics—and estimation theory in particular—comes to the rescue.
The many facets of counting | Tangente
The etymology of the French verb "dénombrer" is relatively transparent: as in the words "énumérer" and "numération", we can recognize the Latin root numerus, meaning number or quantity. To dénombrer is thus to seek an answer to the question "how many?"
How many stars are there in our galaxy? | Tangente
The first map of the Milky Way was drawn by William Herschel (1738–1822) in 1785. Unable to count every star, he used a statistical method.