Since there are no first-hand accounts of the life and activity of Pythagoras of Samos (570–490 BC), a key figure in mathematics, he continues to be a mystifying and legendary character. There is no doubt that Pythagoras introduced the notion of numerical reasoning and signaled the start of the first significant mathematical revolution. He was the one who made the discovery that numbers exist independently of the physical universe and that the study of them is not influenced by bias or opinion.
Pythagoras found that a number’s ability to be considered perfect hinged on its factors, and that the rarest numbers are those whose factors add up to the number itself exactly. Given that 1+2+3 = 6, the number 6 is perfect because it has the divisors 1, 2, and 3. This is the case for 28, as 1+2+4+7+14 Equals 28.
Pythagoras was interested in the connection between numbers and nature in addition to investigating the correlations between numbers. He understood that laws governing natural occurrences can be expressed by mathematical equations. He extended this to the lyre by looking at the characteristics of a single string. One of the first such linkages he discovered was that straightforward numerical ratios might produce harmony in music. Harmonious notes are generated by fixing the string at a place that is exactly halfway along it, or a third, a quarter, or a fifth of the way along it. He had essentially shown how mathematics and science are fundamentally related, and in a moment of clarity realized that numbers were concealed in everything, from the harmonies of music to the orbits of planets, exclaiming, “Everything is a Number.”
The Pythagorean theorem, which is an equation that holds true for all right-angled triangles and hence determines the right angle itself, is the most significant expression of all the links between numbers and nature. The perpendicular, the angle between the vertical and horizontal axes, and, consequently, the relationship between the three dimensions of our universe are all defined by the right angle.
Although this theorem is linked with Pythagoras, the Chinese, Babylonians, and maybe Indians employed it a thousand years earlier. They lacked the ability to demonstrate that it was a mathematical law and that it was universally true. The theorem’s proponent, Pythagoras, asserts that he was the first to prove it mathematically.
Even if it is simple to understand today, Pythagoras was the first to use mathematical evidence to seek out absolute knowledge. For the past 2,500 years, mathematics and science have been pushed by this method as the prerequisite for determining the truth. Pythagoras revolutionized humanity’s enduring search for purpose. This fascinating tale is told in Peter Gorman’s book “Pythagoras – A Life,” which is well worth reading.
News Mania Desk
