We all who know even a little bit about mathematics, have heard the name ‘Pythagoras’ and his famous theorem ‘Pythagoras’ theorem’. He is often called the first ‘true’ mathematician and it is probably true that we owe pure mathematics to Pythagoras. Although his contribution was undoubtedly important, he remains a controversial personality in the mathematician community. […]
Within the history of mathematics, the eighteenth century itself is commonly known as ‘The Age of Euler’ in recognition of the tremendous contributions that Euler made to mathematics during this period. The famous paper written by him on the Seven Bridges of Königsberg published in 1736 is considered as the first paper in the history […]
Sometime in the 5th century B.C. the Greek philosopher Hippasus of Metapontum, a member of the secretive Pythagorean brotherhood, left his home in southern Italy and boarded a seagoing ship. We do not know why Hippasus was traveling or where he was journeying, but we do know he didn’t make it. According to the legend, […]
Countless students learn integral calculus—the branch of mathematics concerned with finding the length, area or volume of an object by slicing it into small pieces and adding them up. What few realize is that their calculus homework originated, in part, in a debate between two 17th-century scholars. In 1635 Italian mathematician Bonaventura Cavalieri declared that […]
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