Euclid

551 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay on the history of mathematics

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.
In Euclid’s first postulate he states that it is possible to draw a straight line from any point to any point. The first postulate gives meaning to the term “point.” For example, any two points such as A and B, there is a line AB that has them as endpoints. In Euclid’s second postulate, it is assumed that it is possible to produce a finite straight line continuously in a straight line. In the third postulate, Euclid states that a circle may be drawn with any center and distant (that is radius.) A compass, for example, demonstrates this postulate. When one draws a circle using a compass, one is plotting all the points a certain distance ‘r’ from the center point. In the next postulate, all right angles are equal to one another. In the last postulate, it states that through a given point not on a given line exactly one line can be drawn paralle...

Show More
Related

  • Euthyphro, by Plato

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    In what is noted as one of Plato first accounts, we become acquainted with a very intriguing man known as Socrates; a man, whose ambition to seek knowledge, inevitably leaves a significant impact on humanity. Most of all, it is methodologies of attaining this knowledge that makes him so mesmerizing. This methodology is referred to as Socratic irony, in literature. In any case, I will introduce the argument that Plato's Euthyphro is extremely indicative of this type of methodology, for the reason being that: Socrates's portrays a sense of intellectual humility.

    Read More

  • Beowulf A Hero Essay

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the novel, Beowulf represents a savage warrior, displaying mostly his strength and bravery by defeating Grendel and his mother. However, as Beowulf ages, he begins to change into a different kind of hero. After becoming King of the Geats, Beowulf matured and took on more of a leadership role in the community, as opposed to a warrior. Even though Beowulf was still a hero, he began to lead an army of geats and acted for the good of the people. In both cases however, Beowulf was respected by others for his admirable

    Read More

  • Greek Influences on Western Civilization

    340 Words  | 1 Pages

    Geometry, a cornerstone in modern civilization, also had its beginnings in Ancient Greece. Euclid, a mathematician, formed many geometric proofs and theories [Document 5]. He also came to one of the most significant discoveries of math, Pi. This number showed the ratio between the diameter and circumference of a circle.

    Read More

  • Nativists Calling for Restriction of Immigrants.

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    Americans at the turn of the century were alarmed about what they perceived as a change in the type of immigrants entering the United States. Some of the traits they saw as distinguishing the new immigrants from the old immigrants were real; some were imagined; some were half-true. The old immigration peaked in the 1880s. The new immigration peaked in 1907. Most of the old immigrants had come over from northern or western European countries, and were protestant. They were literate and skilled, came over as families, and had some money with them. They were also quick to assimilate into society due to their fair and tall characteristics. The new immigrants usually came from southern or eastern European countries and were usually Catholic, Orthodox, or Jewish. They were also illiterate and unskilled, and came over as birds of passage. They were also poor and reluctant to assimilate into society due to their radical beliefs, and short and dark physical features.

    Read More

  • Exploring Geometry's Role in Dermatologic Surgery

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Margaret Symington was awarded the Trevor Evans Award in 2013 for her article Euclid Makes the Cut. Margaret Symington is an associate professor of mathematics at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Her article was one of many issues from Math Horizons vol. 19 on pages six through nine which was published in 2012. “Math Horizons is a vibrant and accessible forum for practitioners, students, educators, and enthusiasts of mathematics, dedicated to exploring the folklore, characters, and current happenings in mathematical culture.” (http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/math-horizons) Symington tests her readers to study the connection between two unrelated professions fields: geometric topology and dermatologic surgery. The title Euclid Makes the Cut grabbed my attention and the information within in the article was very interesting as well. Even though the title and the information within the article was interesting to me as a Math Major but what about other individuals? I think regardless if you are a Mathematics major or not the subject was worth writing. Symington explains medicine in a mathematical way and it was amazing to read.

    Read More

  • herodotus

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Why Herodotus believed Culture is King” Herodotus believed preservation of culture had to be the dominant policy in maintaining, and controlling an empire, thus believing that “culture is king”, Herodotus celebrated the cultures, and achievements of humanity. In Herodotus he writes, “The actions of people shall not fade with time, so the great and admirable monuments produced by both Greeks and Barbarians shall not go unrenowned, and among other things, set forth the reasons why they waged war against each other. ””(Herodotus)” this quote sums up Herodotus’s view, that culture is something that needed to be preserved, and documented. Through his many journeys and travels, Herodotus documented everything, and wrote about many cultures, and societies. He made it a point to not only gather information, and the specific culture, but the reasoning behind the rituals.

    Read More

  • Plutarch's Influence On Athenian Politics Summary

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historians like Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch wrote about this influential man and his effect on Greece. These

    Read More

  • Zeno's Paradoxes

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher and a mathematician. Zeno is particularly known for his paradoxes that helped build both mathematics and logic, they specifically targeted the concepts of continuity and infinity. Zeno was born in 495 BCE and died in 430 BCE. In his lifetime he contributed some great things to the subject of math. He studied at the Eleatic School, a leading school in Greek philosophy. He is said to have been a good friend of the philosopher Parmenides. After his studies he went on to write a book containing 40 paradoxes! Unfortunately none of Zeno’s writing has ever been found. Zeno contributed to mathematics greatly and he will always be remembered for this.

    Read More

  • Immigration Waves: America's Cultural Mosaic

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    Millions of new immigrants came to the United States during the last three decades of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century. In contrast to the earlier American settlers who were mostly from British, Irish or German backgrounds, the new immigrants came from the nations of southern and western Europe such as Italy, Russia, Poland and Greece. Most of these immigrants were attracted to America because they were trying to escape from the problems they faced in their home countries. For example, many Russian Jews came to America in order to escape violent persecution on the part of the Russian government (Cox 32). These new immigrants were attracted to the freedoms offered by

    Read More

  • Archimedes: An Incredible Fraud

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is believed that a man named Archimedes was known throughout his lifetime as 'the wise one', 'the master', and 'the great geometer', but did a man as great as this truly live? Was he truly so great that he should be constantly compared with Newton and Gauss? Archimedes was born 287 BC in Syracuse, Sicily, which was a Greek City at the time. No one knows about his last name or family life because it was so long ago. He went to 'school' for a few years, and went on to be one of the 'greatest mathematicians' in history.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Peloponnesian War

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    From what we can gather, Thucydides was an Athenian Greek born in Alimos in c. 460BC–395BC. Although Thucydides is seen as one of the major figures of the known ancient world, we know relatively little about the man and his life. Most of what we do know is revealed in his own writings, particularly through the account of the Peloponnesian War.

    Read More

  • Pythagoras and Plato

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    For the Greeks philosophy wasn’t restricted to the abstract it was also their natural science. In this way their philosophers were also their scientist. Questions such as what is the nature of reality and how do we know what is real are two of the fundamental questions they sought to answer. Pythagoras and Plato were two of the natural philosophers who sought to explain these universal principles. Pythagoras felt that all things could be explained and represented by mathematical formulae. Plato, Socrate’s most important disciple, believed that the world was divided into two realms, the visible and the intelligible. Part of the world, the visible, we could grasp with the five senses, but the intelligible we could only grasp with our minds. In their own way they both sought to explain the nature of reality and how we could know what is real.

    Read More

  • Human Resource Development Essay

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human Resource Development (HRD) which is any process over the activity that is of a short term or over the long term. It has the potential to develop the work-knowledge, expertise, productivity, and satisfaction of the adults. It focuses on benefiting the personal as well as the group. Additionally benefits the organization, community and the whole of humanity. In the Human Resource Development framework, there are four stages which consisted of Need assessment, Design, Implementation and lastly the Evaluation.

    Read More

  • Bernoulli Essay

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    There have been many great mathematicians in the world, though many are not well known. People have been studying math for ages, the oldest mathematical object dated all the way back to around 35,000 BC. There are still mathematicians today, studying math and figuring out ways to improve the mathematical world. Some of the most well-known mathematicians include Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Aristotle. These mathematicians (and many more) have influenced the mathematical world and mathematics would not be where it is today without them. There were many great individuals who contributed greatly in mathematics but there was one family with eight great mathematicians who were very influential in mathematics. This was the Bernoulli family. The Bernoulli family contributed a lot to mathematics, medicine, physics, and other areas. Even though they were great mathematicians, there was also hatred and jealousy between many of them. These men did not want their brothers or sons outdoing them in mathematics. Most Bernoulli fathers told their sons not to study mathematics even if they wanted. They were told to study medicine, business, or law, instead, though most of them found a way to study mathematics. The mathematicians in this family include Jacob, Johann, Daniel, Nicolaus I, Nicolaus II, Johann II, Johann III, and Jacob II Bernoulli.

    Read More

  • Euclid

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euclid was the leader of a team of mathematicians working at Alexandria. They all contributed to writing the 'complete works of Euclid', even continuing to write books under Euclid's name after his death. He ...

    Read More

More about Euclid

Open Document