Time and periodicity from Ptolemy to Schroedinger: paradigm shifts vs continuity

Abstract

I briefly consider the Kuhnian notion of "paradigm shifts" applied to the history of mathematics and argue that the succession and intergenerational continuity of mathematical thought was undeservedly neglected in the historical studies. To this end, I focus on the history of mathematical theory of time and periodicity, from Ptolemy's epicycles to Schroedinger's quantum amplitudes interference and contemporary cosmological models.