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Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

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Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#41

Post by dmoo »

somenameforme wrote: post #39
dr_dshiv wrote: post #10

Pythagoras was specifically known for accumulating the wisdom of diverse cultures—supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cult he could. And as a boy on his home island of Samos, he would have been exposed to the building of the largest stone temple in Ancient Greece (to Hera) and the incredible engineer…

Oh how can you skip the most fun tale of them all. [1] Its authenticity is dubious, but there's probably at least parts of truth in it. In a nutshell, Pythagoras started a cult based around numbers, and the pseudo-divine purity of rational numbers - of which everything can be represented. Hippasus, a member of said cult, however managed to compellingly demonstrate that the square root of 2 could not be a rational num…

That seems irrational…

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#43

Post by seasox »

dmoo wrote: post #41
somenameforme wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh how can you skip the most fun tale of them all. [1] Its authenticity is dubious, but there's probably at least parts of truth in it. In a nutshell, Pythagoras started a cult based around numbers, and the pseudo-divine purity of rational numbers - of which everything can be represented. Hippasus, a member of said cult, however managed to compellingly demonstrate that the square root of 2 could not be a rational num…

That seems irrational…

At least he kept his cult real

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#45

Post by nologic01 »

Its only fitting that the now defunct "Journal for Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing" would have a clickbaity and misleading title on an article that seems completely off-topic and of very poor quality. A Springer sponsored precursor to the SEO driven abominations of today maybe?

Confusing calculation with proof is an inexcusable mistake for any serious journal.

There can be little doubt that proving theorems is a cognitive tool that developed on the basis of observed regularities. But both asking the question why and, importantly, answering it using logic are highly non-trivial developmemts.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#46

Post by travisjungroth »

mauvia wrote: post #22
loganc2342 wrote: post #18

> The Pythagorean Theorem is arguably the most famous statement in mathematics, and the fourth most beautiful equation. Just out of curiosity, which equations are considered the top three “most beautiful?”

I know the top one is generally considered to be Euler's Equation. e^(i * pi) + 1 = 0 It's considered incredibly elegant because it manages to combine multiple fundamental mathematical concepts into a single equation. 1 is the multiplicative identity, 0 is the additive identity, pi is the circle constant, e is euler's number, i is the square root of -1, the basic building block of complex numbers.

IMO, it’s better with tau.

e^(i * tau) = 1

You lose the 0, but isn’t it a bit odd the 0 is there in the first place? Normally we’d reduce it to:

e^(i * pi) = -1

Which obviously isn’t as nice in this case.

And hey, if we’re allowed to break the conventions, you can have the 0 back easily.

e^(i * tau) = 1 + 0

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#47

Post by smokel »

I sometimes wonder how people will remember the invention of computers, smartphones, and the internet in a few centuries.

People will most probably learn that either Bill Gates or Elon Musk invented it all in one evening when an apple fell from a tree.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#48

Post by dclowd9901 »

saithound wrote: post #5

Every group who ever managed to build a building with a rectangular foundation figured out the relation between the side lengths and the diagonal. The Egyptians used Pythagorean triples to measure right angles way before the birth of Pythagoras. But that's not a theorem, just an observation. It becomes a theorem when you prove (i.e. explain why) this relationship always holds, based on more evident things. The Babylo…

3,4,5

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#49

Post by p-e-w »

dr_dshiv wrote: post #10

Pythagoras was specifically known for accumulating the wisdom of diverse cultures—supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cult he could. And as a boy on his home island of Samos, he would have been exposed to the building of the largest stone temple in Ancient Greece (to Hera) and the incredible engineer…

> supposedly he met Thales, was initiated as Egyptian priest in Hermopolis, spent time in Babylon after being captured, and was initiated into every mystery cult he could

It should be noted that such claims were made about many ancient sages to boost their "wisdom pedigree". Plato is said by ancient sources to have traveled to Egypt and Italy, but my understanding is that most modern scholars doubt that those journeys really happened.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem found on clay tablet 1k years older than Pythagoras (2009)

#50

Post by selcuka »

dmoo wrote: post #41
somenameforme wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh how can you skip the most fun tale of them all. [1] Its authenticity is dubious, but there's probably at least parts of truth in it. In a nutshell, Pythagoras started a cult based around numbers, and the pseudo-divine purity of rational numbers - of which everything can be represented. Hippasus, a member of said cult, however managed to compellingly demonstrate that the square root of 2 could not be a rational num…

That seems irrational…

I believe the whole story is imaginary.
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