By Bob Tedder • This is the third book I’ve reviewed written by a Mt. Gilead native. It’s also a book of firsts. For the first time, there is not a copy available at the Speckled Paw. And it’s the first book I have not actually read. However, there’s a twofold reason for its discussion: (1) to draw attention to its local origins and (2) to focus some long overdue attention on Mt. Gilead’s own local history museum. From this perspective I offer a narrative interpretation of Mt. Gilead’s own James B. Scarborough’s magnum opus, “Numerical Mathematical Analysis Sixth Edition.”
It is, as its name implies, a mathematics textbook and the copy I examined is more narrative than formulaic. His introductory materials on the necessity of precision, rounding and the determination of significant figures in mathematical modeling are more reading than mathematics. It as if one is listening to Scarborough lecturing with only his occasional pauses to chalk visualizations of the techniques just taught. The entire book is so formatted and it is at this point when the math and its analysis escapes me. I present Scarborough’s work as an example of enduring and local history.
The book is no longer in print, although hard copies are available from a variety of vendors on the internet. Originally published in 1930 (the sixth edition dates from 1966), googling the title still returns 138,000 hits. There are myriad opportunities to download the book in PDF format and it’s available from such farflung sources as the digital library of the University of Calicut, India. Scarborough’s professional papers are housed by and are properties of the United States Naval Academy. The local hard copy resides in the Mt. Gilead Museum and is available for study during museum hours (2-5 p.m every Sunday). This copy tells stories and asks questions that far exceed the book’s contents.
The volume has an attached obituary detailing Scarborough’s route from Mt. Gilead through U.N.C. and John Hopkins for degrees to teaching positions at N.C. State and the U.S. Naval Academy. At the latter he taught from 1918 through 1950 and upon retirement was named professor emeritus. The book is dedicated in memory of his son who died at age 8 and personalized to Herman, Francis and Cynthia with very best wishes.
The book’s provenance is unknown and if nothing else this review is a plea for information concerning these unanswered questions. On the other hand, if you want to know Graeffe’s Root-Squaring Method for Solving Algebraic Equations, Scarborough has you covered (see chapter 11). Either way, I’ll see you at the museum one fine Sunday afternoon.