Blaise Pascal Research Paper

It is often assumed by historians that Germain may have witnessed many discussions by her father and his friends on topics such as politics and philosophy (Ornes). Perhaps her interest in mathematics began to blossom around this time as well, considering Germain first began her studies around the age of 13. Germain was first motivated to learn more about mathematics after reading about the death of Archimedes in the hands of a Roman soldier. She was moved by the story and decided that she would become a mathematician. However, considering it was extremely taboo during this time period for a woman to even dream of become interested in such an intellectual subject, Germain received an immense amount of resentment from her family. Her parents threatened to take her blankets and heat away from her if she studied mathematics, and so, by the light of a very discrete candle, Germain would be up late at night teaching herself Latin and Greek and studying mathematics from her father’s books (“Sophie Germain”). Indeed, Germain had discovered that being a girl did not mean that she could not study the same things that boys the same age as her were studying, and she did not believe that she was confined to the barriers of society in the realm of

There was an unexpected explosion in the math and science world in the 17th century across Europe, known as the Age of Reasoning. Scientists such as Galileo, Brahe and Kepler continued to increase our knowledge on mathematics and science, especially the solar system which led to Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Isaac Newton also discovered the laws of physics explaining Kepler’s Laws, and brought together the concepts now known as calculus. The invention of the logarithm by John Napier contributed to the advances of science and astronomy and was one of the most significant developments of this time. Rene Descartes development of analytical geometry and Cartesian coordinates allowed the orbits of the planets to be plotted. Other mathematicians such as Fermat and Pascal formulated theorems which extended our knowledge on number theory. Pascal is most famous for his Pascal triangle even though similar figures had been done by the Chinese and Persian mathematicians before him. Newton and Leibniz revolutionized mathematics by developing infinitesimal calculus. Much more credit should be given to many other mathematicians at this time, but as said before, this was a time of severe increase in mathematics and these are only a few of the most important discoveries. (15)

Sophie Germain was a famous French mathematician. She was born on April 1, 1776 in Paris, France to very wealthy parents. Although her family was wealthy, they never allowed Sophie to study or receive an education. At that time, educating women was frowned upon and perceived as “dangerous”. Despite these beliefs, Sophie was determined to teach herself mathematics(Agnes Scott) . She did this by secretly reading math books in the night from her father’s library. Eventually, Sophie’s parents realized she would never give up on learning and finally allowed her to receive an education with the help of a tutor. Later on, at the age of 18, she was able to enroll in an academy of science and mathematics. She especially

As Francis Xavier once said, “I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him or have forgotten Him.” Francis Xavier would go out of his way to inform people about the good news of the Lord. He spread the good news all around the world along the side of Ignatius Loyola. Consequently, Francis Xavier was declared a saint on March 12, 1622, by Gregory XV. Although Francis Xavier had always planned on leading an academic life, he later became one of the founders of the Jesuit order and spent much of his life spreading the word of the Lord and converting people all around the world to the Catholic Church.

The country of Burkina Faso is a country that was established in 1947 as a French colony. The country later became independent in 1960 (CountryReports), with the military putting leaders in power. After many years of the military electing the government, a man named Blaise Compaoré was in power for 27 years (Lazuta). Recently, Compaoré was overthrown by an uprising and popular vote. The citizens of Burkina Faso started to establish a democracy, but the supporters of Compaoré have been fighting against it and been attempting to gain rights to become the leaders of the country.

John Wallis was born November 23, 1616 and lived till the old age of 87 until October 28, 1703 where he passed away in Oxford. He was born of Reverend John Wallis and Joanna Chapman in Ashford, Kent, England (O'Connor & Robertson, 2002). He was the third of five children in his English family, unfortunately losing his father at the very young age of 6. Wallis is known for introducing series systematically in his work and paving the way for his great contemporary, Isaac Newton (Eves, 1990, p.392-393). Wallis is most famous for his book, Arithmetica Infinitorum, development of infinitesimal calculus, and introducing the symbol for infinity. John Wallis

were revolutionary at the time and he even found ways to equate things like force, gravity, and

Galois was enrolled in his first math class on February 1827. He was fascinated with the class; he comprehended everything quickly. His math teacher was very impressed with his math skills, he even wrote a letter to his parents. The letter stated that Galois is a smart student. He’ll have a bright future if he only took math classes, that way he wouldn’t suffer taking other useless classes. In 1828 Galois took a college exam to enter a University Of Paris but he’d failed it. He wanted to attend the University Of Paris to follow his parent’s footsteps. Galois took some mathematics classes in his hometown but he was so focused on his mathematics class that he wouldn’t complete his schoolwork. One of Galois first math report was published on France Annales De Mathematics on April 1829. Sadly on July 2nd Galois’s father committed suicide, he hung himself near his son’s

Michel de Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. Although he is best known for his essays and his study of literature, he was also an admired and respected as a statesman. His essays led a major role by influencing writers from all over the globe, including well known Renaissance men like William Shakespeare. His works of literature are well known and studied by many people from all over the world.

“Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness (Pascal, Pensées). This famous quote is said by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician. Pascal was born on June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He lived an eventful life, but sadly passed away from a undiagnosed disease at age thirty-nine on August 19, 1662, in Paris. The mother and father of this brilliant man were named Antoinette and Etienne Pascal. Unfortunately, Antoinette passed away when Blaise was only three years old. And so, Pascal did not have many memories of his cherished mother. His father, however, lived to be sixty-three. He was a tax collector, and he also homeschooled Blaise when he was a young boy. His father, at first, did not want

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.

He started attending school at the King’s school, Grantham where he learnt Greek and Latin languages. He hated farming with a passion and that is why he refused several attempts by his mother to make him one. He struggled to develop mathematics that saw him come up with several formulas including calculus.

Comenzando desde el ábaco, que aunque no se lo puede considerar una computadora, nos ayudaba a realizar cálculos matemáticos. En el siglo XVll, el francés Blaise Pascal inventó la pascalina, una máquina que podía realizar sumas y restas de una manera efectiva. Luego Gottfried Leibnitz, mejoró la pascalina incluyéndole operaciones de multiplicar, dividir y raíz cuadrada.

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Aside from his countless contributions to the worlds of math and science, this may be his most important quote because it is what he based his life on—building bridges of knowledge. Throughout his life he was devoted to expanding his and others knowledge past previously known realms. Often regarded of the father of calculus, Newton contributed many notable ideas and functions to the world through his creation of calculus and the various divisions of calculus. Namely, Newton built upon the works of great mathematicians before him through their use of geometry, arithmetic and algebra to create a much more complex field that could explain many more processes in

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