> A second goal is educational. He wants to broaden the history of the field to more accurately reflect the uncertain origins of many foundational ideas. For ex

> A second goal is educational. He wants to broaden the history of the field to more accurately reflect the uncertain origins of many foundational ideas. For example, the core of the mathematical canon is popularly assumed to originate in the teachings of white men in ancient Greece. But in fact, much of that knowledge emerged in the vastness of the ancient Greek empire, which included the modern-day Middle East and North Africa. For Kim, this whitewashing pushes away young people who might contribute to mathematics but don’t see it as belonging to them. And he’s already taken a giant leap back. One of the most beautiful things about mathematics is that you can appreciate its insights, no matter who came up with them. A white girl can be enraptured with Ramanujan’s insights. A black boy can be thrilled with Emmy Noether’s abstract algebra. The sooner we get away from the idea that people will only be interested in certain subjects only if they came from people who look like them, the better.