The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-year HistoryBy any measure, the Pythagorean theorem is the most famous statement in all of mathematics, one remembered from high school geometry class by even the most math-phobic students. Well over four hundred proofs are known to exist, including ones by a twelve-year-old Einstein, a young blind girl, Leonardo da Vinci, and a future president of the United States. Here--perhaps for the first time in English--is the full story of this famous theorem. Although attributed to Pythagoras, the theorem was known to the Babylonians more than a thousand years before him. He may have been the first to prove it, but his proof--if indeed he had one--is lost to us. Euclid immortalized it as Proposition 47 in his Elements, and it is from there that it has passed down to generations of students. The theorem is central to almost every branch of science, pure or applied. It has even been proposed as a means to communicate with extraterrestrial beings, if and when we discover them. And, expanded to four-dimensional space-time, it plays a pivotal role in Einstein's theory of relativity. In this book, Eli Maor brings to life many of the characters that played a role in the development of the Pythagorean theorem, providing a fascinating backdrop to perhaps our oldest enduring mathematical legacy. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 44
... mathematician besides gaining fame as the author of Alice's Adven- tures in Wonderland and Through the Looking ... mathematicians as to what qualifies a theo- rem , or the proof thereof , to be called beautiful . A paramount criterion is ...
... mathematicians busy for the past 350 years . The mathematician at the center of the excitement was Dr. Andrew Wiles , a native of Cambridge , England , and a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey . He made the sensational ...
... mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria , Fermat scribbled a few words that would become immortal : To divide a cube into two cubes , a fourth power , or in general any power whatever into two powers of the same denomination above the ...
... mathematicians were unable to resolve . 5. Needless to say , the description of FIT given here is only the briefest of sketches . For a more detailed account , see Simon Singh's excellent book , Fermat's Enigma : The Epic Quest to Solve ...
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
References to this book
Analytic Hyperbolic Geometry and Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity Abraham A. Ungar No preview available - 2008 |