Sources and method

Our rules

1. Every historical statement has a source. Each page lists the editions and translations we used. Where historians disagree or a date is uncertain, we say so.
2. Evidence, inference and tradition are kept apart. "This surviving source says…" is different from "historians think…", and both are different from a later story. We mark the difference.
3. Legends are labelled as legends — in a box like this one:

4. Modern illustrations are labelled as modern. Animations, colours and reconstructions help to see an idea; they are not historical objects.
5. Images of historical objects are real. We use public-domain or openly licensed photographs and scans, credited on each page and on the image credits page. We never show invented portraits of real people as if they were authentic.
6. Nothing is published unreviewed. Every page is checked before it goes online, and checked again when it changes.

Corrections

If you find an error, write to info@beautifulmathematics.com. We correct it and add a dated note at the end of the page saying what changed.

Box types you will see