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Synapses are located in our central nervous system where nerve cells connect with each other. “Sin-aps” aims at making connections in our research which bring Chinese studies closer to the world of numbers.
Since the 1st of February 2021 Prof. Dr. Andrea Bréard is holder of the Chair for Sinology with a focus on the Intellectual and Cultural History of China (Alexander von Humboldt-Professor) and Director of the IKGF (International Consortium for Research in the Humanities “Fate, Freedom and Prognostication”). Her research interests lie at the intersection of the mathematical sciences and sinology, both in history and in present times. Generously supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation her team conducts research on quantification in China (and its global repercussions), the epistemological aspects of algorithmic mathematics and their cultural transformations, as well as numerical techniques of prediction.

A new publication by Prof. Dr. Andrea Bréard with the title "Wu Dingliang (1894–1969) and the Statistical Definition of the Chinese Race" appeared in the journal Histoire & Mesure XXXVII-1 (EHESS, 2022). By focusing upon the scientific work and network of Wu Dingliang 吳定良, this article looks at ...
Dans le cadre du cycle de conférences en Histoire et Philosophie des Mathématiques, organisé par Prof. Marco Cannone à l'Université Gutave Eiffel, Prof. Andrea Bréard interviendra le 25 janvier 2023 sur la question "Qu’est-ce que c’est un « nombre » en Chine ancienne ?". Quel sens donner à des insc...
The Chair for Sinology with a Focus on the Intellectual and Cultural History of China is currently hiring three post-docs pursuing research in relation to the themes of the sin-aps project. Both research fields, Quantification from Europe to East Asia and The Language of Algorithmic Mathematics are ...
From December 5 to December 8, 2022, the sin-aps group The language of algorithmic mathematics is organising a four-day workshop, which aims at analysing the logic and syntax of mathematical texts: Greek, Latin, Chinese and modern mathematical formulaic texts. The workshop brings together scholars a...