Events for January 2013

January 17, 2013

Bill Huber, Haverford College

Pascal, Fermat, and the birth of Probability Theory

Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Villanova University

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Room 103, Mendel Science Center, Villanova University

Abstract: The famous exchange of letters between Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat in 1654 settled centuries of controversy surrounding the “Game of Points”, which asks how to divide the prize for a game of chance that has been untimely interrupted, and established the basic concepts of probability theory. Some modern controversies remain about this exchange, what was achieved, and who contributed which ideas. We review Pascal’s solution methods and relate them to previous attempts. A long-standing mistranslation of one of Pascal’s letters is corrected, suggesting he had a subtler and more modern grasp of the problem than previously believed. The different approaches to the problem taken by Pascal and Fermat ultimately can be seen, we argue, as epitomizing the differences between how the applied (Pascal) and pure (Fermat) mathematician frame mathematical questions and understand their solutions.

January 26, 2013

Barbara J. Selletti.

History and Mystery of 1799 Lazaretto

American Swedish Historical Museum Genealogy Club | Visit site »

Time: 1:30pm
Location: American Swedish Historical Museum, 1900 Pattison Avenue

The Lazaretto served as a quarantine station for immigrants coming to Philadelphia from 1801-1895. It’s the oldest surviving quarantine station in the Western Hemisphere and is located on the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia near Gov. Printz Park. Barbara J. Selletti. is a “cybrarian” (a librarian who primarily uses the internet) at Neumann University. She is also involved in “The Friends of the 1799 Lazaretto”, an organization interested in bringing attention to the Lazaretto in hopes of restoring it to its original state.

January 29, 2013

Sal Mangione, Thomas Jefferson University

Taussig, Thomas, Blalock and the Blue Baby Syndrome

Jefferson University History of Medicine Series

Time: 12:00pm
Location: Jefferson Alumni Hall 407 (1020 Locust Street, 4th floor)

Helen Taussig is an inspiring role model for all. A legally deaf and dyslexic young woman who was considered not particularly bright even by her own father (who discouraged her from pursuing a medical career), Helen went on to devise the way to treat Fallot, inspire a generation of med students and residents, prevent thalidomide from entering the country, and eventually die while driving a group of fellow nursing home residents to a voting booth (she had been a social activist all her life).

She’s an inspiration for women in medicine, but also for anyone who’s in medicine. In fact, she deserves more credit than what she received.

So, join us to see how a deaf American Woman and an African-American carpenter teamed up with a Southern Aristocrat to cure thousands of children, and how the Southern Aristocrat got all the credit.

Drinks and desserts will be available but lunch is on your own.

January 30, 2013

Jeannine Uribe, Drexel University

Jessie M. Scott in India: Assessing Nursing Manpower in India through a US Lens

Barbara Bates Center, University of Pennsylvania

Date and Time: Wednesday, January 30, 2013, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM in Room 2019, Floor 2U, Claire Fagin Hall.

Abstract: After India gained independence, government administrators sought ways to improve the health of the people, whose life expectancy was 37 years in 1956. Indian nurses followed an education and practice model based on training nurses received at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in the late 1800s. The Second Five Year Plan which focused on industry also proposed greater health care coverage for Indians so that workers were strong for the new economic, political and social progress that India desired. Prime Minister Nehru asked for a US nurse consultant to evaluate the nursing situation and Jessie M. Scott, Deputy Director of the Division of Nursing, the highest federal position for a nurse in the US, joined the Technical Cooperation Mission to India for three months. Scott traveled around the country meeting leaders and using US business methods for counting nurses and their actions. She did not make recommendations for sweeping change but soon after her return to the US, she was asked to complete the same activity: assess and administer the Nurse Training Act of 1964.

Click here to RSVP.