The Greatest Individual

Could any building, road, or even this very laptop exist without a2 b2 and c2? Could anyone ever pass a math class more advanced than Algebra without the knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem? And does this make Pythagoras, the person who discovered this relationship between the sides of right triangles, the greatest individual, ever?

Triangles:The Unsung Heroes

As an age of discovery, science and technology, mathematics is the basis upon which our society is built. In our modern world, it is nearly impossible to go through one minute without depending upon one triangle. Within a home, sky scraper, school, or office, hundreds of triangles support the stress of the building effortlessly. Often times these triangles are right angle triangles.  Right angle triangles are used because of their structural superiority over equilateral, isosceles or other triangles. Right triangles are also versatile and are combined to make other shapes (squares, rectangles, octagons). There are an incalculable amount of triangles used in our world today, they often just go unnoticed.

Pythagoras’s Life is Kind of “Sketch”… Was This Theorem Stolen?

There is evidence of knowledge of a relationship between the length of sides of a triangle and the right angle. It is believe that Egyptians used a triangle, whose sides were measured with equidistant knotted rope, to construct perfect corners on their buildings and temples. These triangles measured 3 units on the shortest side, 4 units on the middle side, and 5 units on the longest side. A traditional Pythagorean Triple. There is no evidence that Egyptians had any knowledge of the a2, b2, c2 relationship, but there is evidence that Pythagoras learned from Egyptians and may have derived his formula and used this triangle as a basis.

Pythagoras Did Not Discover the Triangle, So Why Him?

Although Pythagoras did not discover the triangle, the relationship that he discovered is the basis for other mathematical terms and theorems of high importance. For example, the pythagorean triple is a relationship between three numbers, each of which represent the length of a side of a triangle, that can be combined to make a right triangle. These triples are used in several contractor tools, like the Contractor’s Triangle. Pythagoras’s discovery opened a door that lead to other theorems and a more advanced community mathematically.

So… What Else Did This Triangle Man Do?

Pythagoras did not only spend his days fooling with triangles. He left influences in religion, music, literature and science. Pythagoras believed that everything had a mathematical relationship and that these relationships often repeated in patterns. Pythagoras started schools in Samos, the island of his birth, and Croton, a city in Italy. Pythagoras taught mathematics along with the sciences, music, and morale. He taught about the justice within equality and the importance of having respect for elders within one’s community. Pythagoras also developed a brotherhood where members worshiped mathematics and attempted to reduce all relationships into mathematical terms.

What About Those of Us Who Hate Math? What Does He Have To Do With Us?

Pythagoras not only discovered a crucial relationship within triangles, but he applied mathematics to every and any situation mankind could be faced with. Pythagoras is believed to have made several predictions involving the universe, relationships, etc. This may make Pythagoras seem like a bit of a “dork” but his experimenting and rigid love and passion for the art of mathematics is exactly what lead him to make the discoveries that he made and open the doors that he opened for future generations to come. Pythagoras is considered the “Father of Numbers” because of this passion that he seemed to have possessed like no one before, or after, his time.

So Wrap It Up. Why Is This Guy More Then Just A Square?

Pythagoras is more than just a square. He is the Greatest Individual in history. Pythagoras had passion in THE GREATEST subject of time. Mathematics. Some might just consider him a math freak, but aren’t we all? Don’t we all interact and depend upon math in one way or another, everyday? Don’t we all use some derivation of this beautiful theorem in every class? Even a student with psychology as a major has to have some mathematic credits under their belt. Mathematics is universal, it is the same in every language, it explains anything, in one way or another.

Pythagoras is the man. Point, blank and simple. He is, single handedly, the greatest individual in history because history, or ourstory, would not be the same with out him.

Plus, he could probably karate chop you with his mind.

“Choose rather to be strong of soul than strong of body.” -Pythagoras

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 7th, 2009 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.