Medieval mathematics was a highly personal craft, with knowledge of mathematics and methods being treated as a liability (for better and for worse) and having that knowledge was treated as secret knowledge that your livelihood depended on. The reputation of a mathematician depended on knowing techniques others did not know. Mathematicians frequently challenged other mathematicians to semi-public mathematical contests. The two gave each other a set of problems. Whoever solved the problems the fastest, or the most problems in a given time, won the contest and could secure their funding and social status, while the unsuccessful contestant faced public embarrassment. This created a strong incentive to keep discoveries secret. For example, Scipione del Ferro is now known for discovering a method for solving depressed cubic equations in ~1510. But he kept this method hidden for 20 years because this knowledge gave him professional security. He disclosed the method to his student only on his deathbed.…