Benoit Mandelbrot: The Father of Fractals Where would the world be without fractals. Although there are thousands of mathematicians who have greatly contributed to the world of math, none have quite changed the way we see the world as much as Benoit Mandelbrot. His proven theories on the way we perceive matter and the way everything is formed have influenced many who study the field of mathematics. Without his contributions, we might not be where we are today. Throughout his life as a mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot has accomplished a great deal in the world of math, and through his life’s work and awarded discoveries the understanding of Fractals was born. Mandelbrot was born in Poland in 1924 into a Jewish family that had a large focus on their children having a true appreciation for academic tradition. As a boy, “he saw chess games in geometric rather than logical terms, and he shared his father 's passion for maps. That bias toward “geometry permeated through to his mathematical career” (Giles). Although this may make one think that his parents were both teachers or professors, but surprisingly had “run of the mill” jobs. His father made his living buying and selling clothes while his mother was a doctor. In fact, Mandelbrot wasn’t introduced to mathematics by his parents, but by his uncle Szolem Mandelbrot; who was a Professor of Mathematics at the Collège de France and the successor of Hadamard (Another great mathematician at the time). And when Mandelbrot’s
Mathematics has been a part of society ever since its began. Numerous great minds have contributed to the field but one of the most influential mathematicians was Leonardo da Vinci. Genius, renowned and ahead of his time, Leonardo Da Vinci has been called all of these from the time he began changing the world and still is to this day. I chose Leonardo da Vinci to as my scientist because of how progressive da Vinci was within his designs. The power of mathematics and da Vinci’s mind brought humanity amazing new things and ideas. Though Da Vinci is most known for his superior artistic talents, he was also an inventor that incorporated mathematics into designs that were hundreds of years ahead of their time. The invention of a battle tank, robots and diving suits are all accredited to Leonardo da Vinci.
David Hilbert was a German mathematician whose research and study of geometry, physics, and algebra revolutionized mathematics and went on to introduce the mathematic and scientific community with a series of mathematical equations that have yet to be solved. Furthermore, his study of mathematics laid the groundwork for a variety of ongoing mathematic analyses, which continue to influence the world today.
There are few women that have made an impact on the math society compared with the number of men. A person can ramble off names such as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Pythagoras of Samos, and Jean-François Niceron. Where are the women mathematicians? This paper will examine the lives of women that have made an impact on the world of
The education of mathematics was very important and special to Mary. During Marys education at University of Chicago she was teaching at Downer college. She was urged to also teach at the University of Gottingen. After Mary’s studies she soon graduated in 1889 and was “The first American woman to receive a PhD in mathematics from a European university” (Biographies of Women Mathematics”).
During this time he was tested to see what skills he had, the results show that he was very good in all categories, but he was especially excellent in mathematics. When he was
For this project we chose to interview a current professor of mathematics, Dr. Chris Ahrendt. Dr. Ahrendt is one of our former professors and teaches at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. As students we were impressed by his overall knowledge and enthusiasm for mathematics. This lead us to inquire into the source of his excitement and his experience in the field of mathematics.
"Sophie Germain was born on 1 April 1776, in Paris, France" stated in https://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/germain.htm . Sophie Germain was a girl French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. When Sophie Germain was 13 years of age all she had for enjoyment was her father's library; In her father's library she gained education from reading books. Sophie's parents being how they are following the rules they never wanted her to study. "Sophie thought that if the geometry method, at the time was referred to all of pure mathematics, that could hold such fascination for Archimedes, it was a subject worthy of study" stated in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Germain . She looked over every book on mathematics that was in her father's
Mandel’s original interest did not involve light mechanics whatsoever, but in the late 1940’s he decided to switch, in which extraordinary findings came about. He wanted to know how light was measured, how light worked, how light bypassed all of our minds through the years. He wanted to know the light field of study by the measurements through a camera, and the spectacle mirrors. The optical side of science, which interested him like no other science.
Once again, numbers have surprised me with their surprisingly complex simplicity. In this passage of Taming the Infinite: The story of mathematics from numbers to chaos theory, the author writes about a vast array of topics, including number theory, prime numbers, calculus, many mathematicians, among many others.
Galileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor family but among their people they were considered quite noble. His parents realized that Galileo possessed pronounced intellectual gifts. They made great sacrifices to give Galileo the education that he deserved. At the University of Pisa he studied medicine to grant his father’s wishes, while there he became interested in a wide range of other subjects. Even as a student at the University of Pisa he questioned many of Aristotle’s teachings, therefor, when he began to teach there himself he was left isolated from his fellow professor. Galileo worked at the University of Pisa for three years before he resigned and began his teachings as a math professor at the University of Padua. At that university he was a well-loved professor who attracted large
Marie Sophie Germain was born in Rue Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on April 1, 1776, in a wealthy Persian family. Ambroise-Francois, her father, was a rich man who was assumed to be a wealthy silk merchant, or a goldsmith. Ambroise was elected as the representative of the bourgeoisie to Etats-Généraux en 1789, which had involved his daughter to witness many discussions with her father and his peers. When she was 13, The French Revolution broke out. Enforcing her to remain indoors,as she turned to her father’s library to take away her boredom where she became interested in mathematics. Pouring her time into each book as she had taught herself Latin and Greek, allowing her to read other famous mathematicians work such as Isaac Newton.
The renaissance was a time of “rebirth” and changing thoughts. The time of the renaissance was between the 14th century and went to the 17th century.Prior to the renaissance, people of the dark age devoted their life towards god, the changing thoughts of the renaissance lead people to devote their life to learning. The people’s top priority was no longer pleasing God and doing good for God, instead they began to change their priorities. God was still a big part of people’s lives but there was also a yearn for education. Mathematics was a big part of the renaissance, because it helped to make advancement in all areas of learning. The changing values to the Renaissance lead to advancements in mathematics which lead to new art techniques,
Mathematics has always been described as the purest science and considered as one of the most important aspects in many countries around the world, especially developed countries. Theoretically, the most significant requirements for a life of a mathematician is the mathematical ability. Nevertheless, very few women get involve in this field, which creates a myth, and slowly develops into a stereotype in society, that women are naturally not good at math. However, many people would be surprised, that “the world’s greatest living mathematician for a time was a women” (Deakin 13). Hypatia of Alexandria was, indeed, a physically beautiful woman who used her talent and intelligence to defy the stereotypes against
Bernoulli was soon exposed to Euler’s brilliance in analytical science and presently saw his true potential, and gained a new respect for him. Euler procured his degree of Master of Arts in philosophy in 1723 by comparing and contrasting the ideas of Descartes and Newton. He then attempted to gain degrees in Theology and Oriental languages on his father’s request, but did not complete the course due to disinterest in the subject, and soon, with his father’s permission, returned to the study of mathematics.
Mathematics has contributed to the alteration of technology over many years. The most noticeable mathematical technology is the evolution of the abacus to the many variations of the calculator. Some people argue that the changes in technology have been for the better while others argue they have been for the worse. While this paper does not address specifically technology, this paper rather addresses influential persons in philosophy to the field of mathematics. In order to understand the impact of mathematics, this paper will delve into the three philosophers of the past who have contributed to this academic. In this paper, I will cover the views of three philosophers of mathematics encompassing their