CO 480History of Mathematics
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Mathematics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
An in-depth examination of the origins of mathematics, beginning with examples of Babylonian mathematics. Topics may include Pythagorean triples, solution of equations, estimation of pi, duplication of the cube, trisection of an angle, the Fibonacci sequence, the origins of calculus.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
- Students must be in level 3A or higher
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Resources
Around the web
Found by uwloo’s link finder, which checks that each page names CO 480.
- Carmen's CO 480 Resources Page Course website · cs.uwaterloo.ca · from Carmen Bruni’s site Remove
Reviewed on UW Flow
79% liked it55% easy34% useful
From 19 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
The highlight of this course was the lectures. Martin really took the time to make sure his lectures has a perfect mix of entertainment, engagement and the actual math history. Assignments had an essay component and a math component. The essays were marked somewhat harshly, but the math parts were quite easy. The group project made up a total 50% of the course grade, but the final editions were marked quite generously. Overall, I highly recommend this course, especially if Martin teaches it again.
Aug 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Lectures are unengaging and have clearly been prepared last-minute, without a clear flow to the concepts, and with some inaccurate information as well. There are only 4 main assignments, but each one contains a long math portion, which doesn't make sense considering we aren't really taught actual math in the course and you kind of just have to figure it out. The course itself isn't difficult, but essays and the final project are graded harshly. Definitely not a mark-booster class.
Jul 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Pretty birdy no midterm or final just assignments and final project. It is math history so honestly pretty useless but great if you need it for a requirement. Pretty neat course overall though cant lie.
Jul 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Interesting class if you like the historical aspect of math. The topics taught are not really connected and are random but all interesting nonetheless. Course contained 6 assignments where only 4 were to be done. Students had the choice of picking which 4/6 they wanted to do. Assignments contained an essay or biography or historical time line for a mathematician, and then some proof problems. Then final essay at the end which you work through all term and just revise and revise until the end of the term where you submit your final copy. Only thing I did not like about the course was the marking. I found that the marking was quite brutal. Aside from that it is a pretty interesting course,…
Nov 2023 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
there are some interesting stuff; not rlly useful tho; workload can be quite a lot
Oct 2017 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
70 posts and comments in 57 threads mention CO 480, July 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Spring 2023
Warning: Dont take PMATH330 unless you love pmath and loved math 135 1 point, 15 comments
“It's a lot of work, it's a lot of content. It's not easy. Stay away”
u/Affectionate-Pop693: “Yeah don't trust anyone that says PMATH or CO courses are easy they are a different species of people”
u/CC-4142: “CO 480 is the most easy and fun math course I’ve taken.”
Math Bird courses for fall 2023 1 point, 7 comments
“I have to take a math elective from one of the following subjects :ACTSC, AMATH, CO, CS, MATH, PMATH, or STAT. I am looking to take an easy course thats preferably online. …”
u/Affectionate-Pop693: “I think CS has the most fun bird courses: CS 330, CS 338, CS 200, CS 100 CO 480, ACTSC 371 (gone now), STAT 337 (with Cecelia Cotton), and STAT 332 (with Riley Metzger) are also pretty bird.”
CO 480 textbook? 5 points, 3 comments
u/ParmesanCharmeleon: “I always wanted to take CO 480 (history of mathematics) taught by Steven Furino, but I was never able to in my undergrad. Is there a textbook for this course? Or any references suggested in the course? I would love to self-study. …”
CO480 2 points, 0 comments
u/XxSniipr0XDuoxX: “Hey there. Can anybody tell me how this class is and what it’s like? I can’t seem to find many posts about it online and was wondering what it was like in terms of difficulty Kurt, what the assessments are and are like, etc….”
Spring 2022
4xx math courses 4 points, 10 comments
“Are there any 4xx math courses that only require a 1st or second year course as a prerequisite? For example pmath340 only requires math135, but I was wondering if there are any other math classes …”
u/clew3: “CO 480”
Winter 2022
PMath 330 for Spring 2022 4 points, 3 comments
“Hey folks, I took PMath 330 course for the Spring 2022 term, with Barbara Csima as my prof. I was wondering how the course might pan out, as it seems that her course tend to be comparatively more …”
u/clew3: “I know that others didn't like her, but imo she's pretty good. I had her for PMATH 237 and loved it, so I took 330 with her in spring (online as well). …”
u/clew3: “Oh one thing to add, and I'm not sure how true this is, but in general, math courses ending in a 0 tend to be a bit more accessible/designed for math students outside of the major. For example, CO 380/480 are super easy.”
Spring 2021
Any 400 Level Elective Recommendations? 7 points, 11 comments
“Hey I'm planning out my future courses, and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about any 400 level elective that is easy. I'm interested in music and history but if it is easy I'll take it. …”
u/BubblesfromSunnyvale: “CO 480 might fit? The course is history of math and seems to be pretty easy (edit: just checked and the prerequisites might be kinda tough to hit as a science student).”
Winter 2021
CO 480 7 points, 0 comments
u/Dangerous-Reporter-5: “Has anyone taken CO480 recently (so I guess Spring 2019)? If yes, can you pm the course outline or if you don’t have that, could you please comment on how the course was? Is it proof-heavy? Thank you!”
General Math (Math Studies) 7 points, 6 comments
“Any advice is appreciated! I am currently navigating through “Honours Math” and have trouble picking which program to stick to... …”
u/Laeriana: “… CO 380 and CO 480), or may be restricted ONLY to other majors (i.e. PMATH majors only, etc.), OR may only require certain pre-reqs (eg. they accept MATH 237 as a pre-req, but not MATH 207 for instance). …”
Bird Math courses (200, 300, 400 level) 9 points, 23 comments
“Wanna know some EASY math courses of level 200, 300 or 400, especially online. Send help pls. To be taken this spring 21, not planning to major in anything, so just want to take easy math courses to …”
u/Airbus-A320: “From what I've heard, ACTSC371, AMATH250, CS200, CS338, CO480, PMATH 321, PMATH 330, PMATH 340, STAT337, and STAT430 are all pretty light. MATBUS471 this term is pretty light so far... We'll see how the midterm goes \All of these are offered in the summer”
Fall 2020
"fun" math classes for next term? 7 points, 12 comments
“I am a CO major, next term I am in 4B and the only degree requirement I have left is the "at least 26 math courses" - i.e. I need to take any 2 math courses to graduate. …”
[deleted]: “CO 480 (History of Mathematics)”
Really liked CO380, what next? 13 points, 11 comments
“Took CO380 Mathematical Discovery and Invention last term and it's one of my favourite courses so far. …”
u/BubblesfromSunnyvale: “I think CO 480 is a similar ish course? Issue is with most co-op sequences if you take one you probably can’t take the other.”
u/clew3: “Like what another commenter said, CO 480 (S2021) is supposedly similar in difficulty and that it's "Kinda CO but also kinda not CO". I too took 380 last term and loved it. Many friends told me 480 is really fun, so I'm excited to take it too!”
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