Pythagoras Research Paper

Being one of the greatest philosophers of his time, Pythagoras created a society of skilled mathematicians who worked together to facilitate mathematics, showed how numbers can be independent, and proved the Pythagorean theorem, making him iconic in mathematics today. His discoveries of simple yet essential methods are prevalent today throughout many mathematical fields in which they are treasured.

Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which relates the two sides of a triangle to the hypotenuse using the formula a squared plus b squared equals c squared. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than that of other pre-Socratic philosophers, one can give only a tentative account of his teachings, and some have questioned whether he contributed much to mathematics or natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. Some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were

Pythagoras was born in 570 BCE. at Samos, Ionia, a city located in Greece . His mother being Pythais and his father is Mnesarchus. Not much was known about him because of the lack of written information on him. Pythagoras received a good education during his childhood, such as reciting homer, learning poetry, and playing musical instruments. Scholars come to believe that he got his astronomy from Anaximander and his mathematical/geometry knowledge from Miletos. Overall his mentor was Thales, he was the one to encourage Pythagoras to continue his studies and travel to Egypt. He developed a strong belief in numbers/mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy.

Pythagoras also contributed to the music world. He expressed the musical harmony in formulas. He created a scale layout with gongs in different sizes and he proved that in the resonance of the gongs he hit, 1 octave interval is equal to 2:1 proportion, the perfect fifth is equal to 3:2 proportion, perfect four is equal to 4:3 proportion and whole notes are equal to 9:8. This, later started to be known as “Pythagorean Tuning.”

Greek mathematical and scientific ideas have also been a large contribution. Euclid, a Greek mathematician, wrote many theorems. His theorems have been very substantial because they are included in today’s mathematical problems. One of his theorems include “If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal.” This specific theorem is used in proofs and it proves that all vertical angles are equal. Hippocrates was a Greek physician who created the Hippocratic Oath. This oath

Archimedes was a Greek Mathematician from Syracuse, Italy. He was an astronomer, physicist, inventor, and an engineer. Minimal details of his life are yet to be discovered, but his achievement of being the leader of scientists in the classical antiquity. Over the years of his life, Archimedes obtained as much knowledge as he could from his teachers and then decided to travel an extremity to Egypt and there began his study of Alexandria. In a lapse of time Archimedes earned a scholarship and he was known for having a great reputation. When he was done with studying and traveling he returned home to continue in the path of invention and thought. Many legends compare to how Archimedes was a replica of King Hero II. Archimedes was also

Hipparchus was a greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician born 190 B.C. in Nicaea and died in 120 B.C. Rhodes, Rhodes, Greece. Hipparchus is accredited as the inventor of trigonometry because of his discovery of the first table of chords and also because he's the only person with valid data of the discovery and usage of trigonometry. In order to calculate the rising and setting of zodiacal signs, Hipparchus brought to light the division of circles into 360 degrees and the calculation of chords by looking at the triangles (spherical triangles or triangles that made up a circle) differently. Hipparchus experimented putting all triangles to be within a circle and with the three points each touching the

Speaking of triangle’s Pythagoras’ most famous contribution to the world of mathematics, The Pythagorean Theorem was proved during this time period. Pythagoras did not create the Theorem, the creation is credited to the Babylonians and Indians, however Pythagoras was the first man to successfully prove the Theorem. The iconic equation looks like

The Greeks made several inventions, most notably in the subject of math, which are still studied today and taught in school. Mathematician Euclid is often credited as the “Father of Geometry” for all his work and studies in this subject, which are compiled in his books called The Elements. He organized known geometrical statements called theorems and logically proved all of them. He proved the theorem of Pythagoras (another Greek mathematician), which stated that the equation (c2 = a2 + b2) is true for every right triangle.

The author of Journey through Genius, William Dunham, begins this chapter by depicting how mathematics was spurred and developed in early civilizations. Dunham focuses primarily on the works’ and achievements’ of early Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece in this section. These ancient societies, as they developed, produced mathematicians such as; Thales, Pythagoras, and Hippocrates, who turned a basic human intuition for space and quantity into applicable everyday mathematics. The primary influences driving the development of early mathematics were the issues of growing civilizations, most notably counting commodities, taxation, and the division of land equally, rather than a pure desire for understanding that is seen in mathematics today. These influences culminated in the development of early arithmetic and geometry.

Egypt of the pharaohs is best known for its great monuments and feats of engineering (such as the Pyramids), but it also made great advances in many other fields too. The Egyptians produced early forms of paper and a written script. They developed the calendar too and made important contributions in various branches of mathematics, such as geometry and algebra, and it seems likely that they understood and perhaps invented the use of zero. They made important contributions in mechanics, philosophy, irrigation and architecture. In medicine, the Egyptians understood the body’s dependence on the brain over 1000 years before the Greek scholar Democritus. Some historians now believe that ancient Egypt had an important influence on ancient Greece, and they point to the fact that Greek scholars such as Pythagoras and Archimedes studied in Egypt, and that the work of Aristotle and Plato was largely based on earlier scholarship in Egypt. For example, what is commonly known as Pythagoras’ theorem, was known to the ancient Egyptians hundreds of years before Pythagoras’ birth.

There are many great philosophers in this world. Some of which are extremely well known and almost everyone knows their names like Socrates, Plato Aristotle Locke and so very many more. Pythagoras is a less known philosopher who had a lot of discoveries while leading a life in a secretive manner. He was an enigma and the leader of a religious sect cult who believed the universe to consist solely of whole numbers and their ratios. Pythagoras said "Do not talk a little on many subjects, but much on a few." Has one ever wondered where did he learn his vast knowledge of mathematics and religious aspects leading to the Pythagorean cult, or what was all of his discoveries besides

During his career, Eratosthenes became a well renowned mathematician although he was just short of being the best, he was beat out by Archimedes who was the best in almost every subject. Throughout his life Eratosthenes was called β which is the second letter in the Greek alphabet. In 247 B.C. Eratosthenes was appointed to be the Librarian of Alexandria by Ptolemy III Euergetes. Eratosthenes also created the Sieve of Eratosthenes which is a simple, yet effective way of finding prime numbers. The most notable thing he did was find the circumference of the earth, he did this by adopting a simple

     Euclid of Alexandria was born in about 325 BC. He is the most prominent mathematician of antiquity best known for his dissertation on mathematics. He was able to create “The Elements” which included the composition of many other famous mathematicians together. He began exploring math because he felt that he needed to compile certain things and fix certain postulates and theorems. His book included, many of Eudoxus’ theorems, he perfected many of Theaetetus's theorems also. Much of Euclid’s background is very vague and unknown. It is unreliable to say whether some things about him are true, there are two types of extra information stated that scientists do not know

Euclid Of Alexandria may be the best-known mathematician of the world, he is best known for his work on mathematics The Elements. The fact that his work has survived so long, 2000 years in fact, is a tribute to his mathematical genius, however very little of him is known. Three theories abound as to the true nature of this historical figure. Not all historians agree that Euclid was in fact a historical figure, some argue that the school in Alexandria took up the name Euclid to publish their works. But the more accepted theories are that Euclid was in fact a real historical figure who may have been the leader of a team of mathematicians.