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Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

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Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#81
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem

> In India, the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, the dates of which are given variously as between the 8th and 5th century BC, contains a list of Pythagorean triples discovered algebraically, a statement of the Pythagorean theorem, and a geometrical proof of the Pythagorean theorem for an isosceles right triangle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudhayana_sutras

> A rope stretched along the length of the diagonal produces an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together.

> The lines are to be referring to a rectangle, although some interpretations consider this to refer to a square. In either case, it states that the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the sides.

> If this refers to a rectangle, it is the earliest recorded statement of the Pythagorean theorem.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be too enamored. These are fairly standard right wing talking points in India. From his comments on Gandhi and Pythagoras one can easily infer that he is a supporter of Narendra Modi and Hindu supremacy. Pythagoras' school provided the earliest documented proof of the theorem, but the result was possibly known as early as 3000 BC. As for Gandhi, he grew up in a strictly birth based hierarchical society and he p…

Exercise in dealing with such "Exhibit A"'s: > Pythagoras' school provided the earliest documented proof of the theorem, but the result was possibly known as early as 3000 BC. Actually there is no known evidence Pythagoras or his school had any relation to the theorem. Much of it is word-of-mouth legend (and even then not particularly informative). It's amusing when the same people accept legends from Europe as canon…

> Actually there is no known evidence Pythagoras or his school had any relation to the theorem.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Cf9Rj_ADZU4C&pg=PA29&lpg=P...

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#83
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These divisions are very important. As long as mystical beliefs towards Eastern thought are used to cause real harm through herbal remedies and supplements, the public must be taught to give it less importance. Among critical thinkers, it is valuable to look for similarities in scientific histories.

Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Don't even get me started. I don't know much about Eastern medicine outside of India to be honest. One exception: Chinese people buy tiger bone Viagra, elephant tusk art, rhino horn something, and shark fin soup. I was born Hindu but became closer to Buddhist as I learned more about the scientifi…

> Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga.

Cars kill more people per year than heroin, therefore heroin is healthier than cars.

Let's wait until pseudo-scientific treatments become multi-billion dollar industries and then we'll talk about what does more harm to what.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#84
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Don't even get me started. I don't know much about Eastern medicine outside of India to be honest. One exception: Chinese people buy tiger bone Viagra, elephant tusk art, rhino horn something, and shark fin soup. I was born Hindu but became closer to Buddhist as I learned more about the scientifi…

> Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Cars kill more people per year than heroin, therefore heroin is healthier than cars. Let's wait until pseudo-scientific treatments become multi-billion dollar industries and then we'll talk about what does more harm to what.

I'm not talking about pseudo-scientific anything dude.

1.) A meat-based diet is directly linked to higher cancer rates.

"The World Health Organization has determined that dietary factors account for at least 30 percent of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20 percent in developing countries. When cancer researchers started to search for links between diet and cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was that people who avoided meat were much less likely to develop the disease. Large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters."

http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/fact...

2.) A meat-based diet is directly linked to clearing wild habitat for more farm animals.

"Both the meat-based average American diet and the lactoovovegetarian diet require significant quantities of nonrenewable fossil energy to produce. Thus, both food systems are not sustainable in the long term based on heavy fossil energy requirements. However, the meat-based diet requires more energy, land, and water resources than the lactoovovegetarian diet. In this limited sense, the lactoovovegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.

The major threat to future survival and to US natural resources is rapid population growth. The US population of 285 million is projected to double to 570 million in the next 70 y, which will place greater stress on the already-limited supply of energy, land, and water resources. These vital resources will have to be divided among ever greater numbers of people."

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full

3.) U.S. eats more meat than any nation on Earth and also has the most expensive health care in the world too, 20% of the GPD. We have a society whose delusions cause diseases and destruction around the world. If I was wrong, there wouldn't be so many brilliant scientists, doctors, artists, and entrepreneurs on this same train of thought.

4.) Yoga, meditation, plant-based diet have all played a major part in creating the modern world including computers and the internet. If people don't have discernment to know true from false, that is their shortcoming and not Dharma. ;)

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#85

Much of modern history is a throwback of the colonial times when the "barbarians" from the West were trying to search for some great past of their people. Thus much of what is attributed to the Greeks and Romans today should belong to the civilizations of Asia (India, China, and Iran). Pythagorean theorem has nothing to do with Pythagoras or the Greeks even [3] ! There is nice interview of Manjul Bhargava (surroundin…

Except for a couple sentences in the beginning, your message is entirely off-topic.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#86
post #58

From what I understand, the Chinese had often recorded many facts about nature and mathematics very early and accurately. However they never really created much laws. Laws of nature was a western invention. E.g. they observed accurately planetary movements, but never attempted to formulate the laws governing those movements. That sort of thinking was crucial for scientific thinking.

Maybe true. The emphasis was on calculations. For example, there was a heliocentric model in India [1], which was too complicated to come from a "simple" mechanical model, but was quite accurate. But I think we should not be too eager to jump on to "science is only from laws" bandwagon. Courses on the philosophy of science take this dogma to absurd extremes, ignoring how current science is often done. There is enough…

Feynman can counter this much better than I can,

"Feynman on pseudo science" https://vimeo.com/118188988

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#87
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Cars kill more people per year than heroin, therefore heroin is healthier than cars. Let's wait until pseudo-scientific treatments become multi-billion dollar industries and then we'll talk about what does more harm to what.

I'm not talking about pseudo-scientific anything dude. 1.) A meat-based diet is directly linked to higher cancer rates. "The World Health Organization has determined that dietary factors account for at least 30 percent of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20 percent in developing countries. When cancer researchers started to search for links between diet and cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was th…

You have not addressed my counter-argument. I'm not interested in defending "meat-based diets". I'm simply attacking your pseudo-medicine.

> We have a society whose delusions cause diseases and destruction around the world. If I was wrong, there wouldn't be so many brilliant scientists, doctors, artists, and entrepreneurs on this same train of thought.

Argumentum ad populum.

> Yoga, meditation, plant-based diet have all played a major part in creating [...] computers and the internet.

This is probably the most absurd statement I've read all week.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#88
post #58

From what I understand, the Chinese had often recorded many facts about nature and mathematics very early and accurately. However they never really created much laws. Laws of nature was a western invention. E.g. they observed accurately planetary movements, but never attempted to formulate the laws governing those movements. That sort of thinking was crucial for scientific thinking.

Maybe true. The emphasis was on calculations. For example, there was a heliocentric model in India [1], which was too complicated to come from a "simple" mechanical model, but was quite accurate. But I think we should not be too eager to jump on to "science is only from laws" bandwagon. Courses on the philosophy of science take this dogma to absurd extremes, ignoring how current science is often done. There is enough…

Feyerabend's Against Method goes further: examining crucial discoveries in science reveals no pattern which could be called a scientific method. Everyone sort of freestyles it or does what works.

I think modern western science discounts other sources of knowledge, because it is not just a platonic ideal but a sort of politics of the scientists, which they need to justify the choices they make.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It must be clarified that mainland of China is also part of ROC according to ROC government[1]. In fact, the mainland and taiwan are in war, just like the Union and Confederacy in American civil war, even if there is not military conflicts right now. More interestingly, ROC actually claims larger territory than PRC (for example, part of Mongolia). It is ROC's constitution, not PRC's government, demands taiwan is part…

China lodged a formal complaint and warned of the "destr[uction of] Sino-US ties" because the US president admitted that the Taiwanese president spoke to him. If there's a reasonable party in all this, it is definitely not China. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/03/china-donald-t...

We are incredibly off topic, but I think it's a bit reductionist to call China unreasonable. China is, above all, pragmatic. The Taiwan situation is a farce, but the Communist Party has reasons to believe it necessary. Party sovereignty and legitimacy are based on defending Chinese independence and restoring national grandeur (强国梦) after colonial humiliation. Any change on the Taiwan issue could cause both separatist and nationalist forces to escalate out of control, potentially destabilizing the entire country.

China really doesn't want to find out what might happen if countries start recognizing Taiwanese independence, so the US president poking at that bubble is seen as a threat. China responds with assertive words because fighting with words is better than fighting a war.

Re: Pythagorean Theorem proof in a 2100 year old Chinese book

#90
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big Pharm and meat-based diet do a lot more harm to the entire biosphere and individuals than Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Cars kill more people per year than heroin, therefore heroin is healthier than cars. Let's wait until pseudo-scientific treatments become multi-billion dollar industries and then we'll talk about what does more harm to what.

I'm not talking about pseudo-scientific anything dude. 1.) A meat-based diet is directly linked to higher cancer rates. "The World Health Organization has determined that dietary factors account for at least 30 percent of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20 percent in developing countries. When cancer researchers started to search for links between diet and cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was th…

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