Roger Cooke in The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course
(2nd ed., Wiley-Interscience, 2005)—
“Like all numbers, the number four is bound to occur
in many contexts.”
— Ch. 1: “The Origin and Prehistory of Mathematics,”
Part 3, “Symbols,” footnote 1, page 11.
As is the number 382:
Click the above image for some related material.
Commentary:
“Once the students are taken in by the story, it will be
the instructor’s job to elaborate on the historical
calculations and proofs.”
— Gary S. Stoudt, Professor of Mathematics,
Indiana U. of Pennsylvania, review of Cooke’s book
at the Mathematical Association of America
