The Seminar in Mathematics explores the theme of the Humanities Seminar in a unique way. Its attention to the beauty and structure of numerical and geometric relations, as well as its intense focus on clarity of thought and expression, aims to build both skill in analysis and rigor in thinking. Each topic in the Mathematics curriculum begins with a tangible observation of the natural world, a question arising from Natural Philosophy, or mathematical speculation itself, and uses these explorations to discover skills and techniques. Following the theme set in the Humanities, mathematics considers the fundamentals of numeracy, analysis, geometry, and logic in increasing complexity throughout its four years. By introducing difficult topics early, students grow accustomed to challenging concepts so that when they are reintroduced later they have a much better mastery. For example, in the first year (Exodus and Odyssey), students begin by discussing the concept of number, which relies on place value. This is an ideal time to introduce bases and exponents, as well as the logarithm. However, the presentation is limited to small, integer valued exponents. The foundation is laid for revisiting exponents and logs in the second year (Nature), during the study of exponential growth and decay, where fractional and negative exponents become important in the study of populations. Through exercises such as this, the seminar integrates mathematics into art, music, rhetoric, natural philosophy, and theology. The Seminar in Mathematics meets daily.
