Was Pythagoras Chinese?

I thought it was interesting how Chinese historical documents referred to Math as art whereas the "Greeks saw math as a philosophical pursuit" (p.210). There was a greater focus on logic and proving steps which perhaps lines up more with Western thinking and is a reason for why Greek mathematicians have been celebrated and prioritized more in our culture. It does make a difference if we acknowledge non-European sources of mathematics because it gives students opportunities to explore mathematics with a different lens. I think it is important to celebrate thinkers from different cultures because we will likely have students from diverse backgrounds in our classes and it matters that we directly and indirectly communicate that all our students can pursue their goals past high school. If we only celebrate Greek mathematicians what are we saying to our students about their abilities to succeed in STEM subjects?

I think the naming of these theorems has immortalized these Mathematicians and contributes to the white-washing of history in our schools. To name other people in various cultures who also made these discoveries is a good step in acknowledging that European culture is not superior. I discovered that 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal is credited with the number pattern but it is much older. In the 11th century, Chinese mathematician Jia Xian had a representation of the coefficients for binomials.  There is prejudice against Asian culture in Canada and that can be traced to our colonial roots. I think it is important to deconstruct those ideas by criticizing even the small things like what names we were taught in school. History is important and I was only taught one side, I hope to do better for my students.