Worked through these two books over the weekend:
60: Capitalism & Arithmetic: The New Math of the 15th Century (Frank J Swetz) | * * * | A history, reproduction, and discussion of The Treviso Arithmetic, which is (as far as we know) "the earliest known dated, printed math textbook."
The book was fascinating. Mathematical concepts were expressed with clarity, and I was intrigued by the way that computational skills we think of as elementary were once considered cutting-edge. Truly interesting, though, were the homework assignments: They read just like modern pre-algebra assignments. I suppose one mark of a true thing is that it doesn't change.
61: The Art of Bible Translation (Robert Alter) | * * * * | I've always been intrigued by translations of Scripture; right now on my desk I've got English Standard Version, an interlinear Greek / English Bible, and the Jerusalem Bible. As someone who's spent a fair amount of time teaching literature, I'm fascinated by the choices of diction, syntax, and vocabulary made by each new translator.
"The Art of Bible Translation" was excellent. Essentially, it's a compendium of places where the author thinks translators got it wrong, with detailed explanations as to why. He covers diction, syntax, poetic rhythm, and more -- and, surprisingly, an academic writing in 2024 seems to actually favor the King James Version as the translation in wide use that best captures the original language.
Of course, Alter favors his own translation over even the KJV, and I enjoyed this work enough that I'll be checking it out and adding it to my stack.
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