Abstract
ON February 15 the recommendations of the Special Board for Mathematics on the Mathematical Tripos will be voted on by the Senate of the University of Cambridge. With regard to the changes proposed in the general arrangement of the examinations there can be scarcely any difference of opinion. About twenty years ago the advances in mathematical science had reached such a pitch that it was impossible to cover the whole range of mathematics in a single examination, and many a promising mathematician found himself seriously fettered by the necessity of having to confine himself to those parts of the subject which would best enable him to obtain a high place in the examination, and to spend his time in attaining proficiency in rapidly solving certain classes of problems rather than devote himself to specialising in the higher branches of mathematics. It was under these conditions that the Tripos was divided into two parts, the first covering the less advanced subjects, and the second enabling a candidate to specialise in those portions of higher mathematics for which his enthusiasm and ability best qualified him. The further developments of the last twenty years have necessitated an extensive reconstruction of the schemes, and the framers of the present regulations have been at great pains to bring the Mathematical Tripos into line with modern requirements. At the same time it is becoming daily more and more evident to those competent to judge that a sound training in mathematical methods is of paramount importance in the study of applied science, and the regulation allowing candidates to take Part i. in their fifth term should prove of great value to those who wish to study mathematics as a preparation for the subsequent study of physics or mechanical science or even, nowadays, chemistry.
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BRYAN, G. The Mathematical Tripos. Nature 61, 346 (1900). https://doi.org/10.1038/061346a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/061346a0
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