Thanks MtnClimber.
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Posted on 06/29/2016 8:33:17 PM PDT by MtnClimber
In 2012, Mathematician Ian Stewart came out with an excellent and deeply researched book titled "In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World."
His book takes a look at the most pivotal equations of all time, and puts them in a human, rather than technical context.
"Equations definitely can be dull, and they can seem complicated, but that’s because they are often presented in a dull and complicated way," Stewart told Business Insider. "I have an advantage over school math teachers: I'm not trying to show you how to do the sums yourself." ...
Stewart continued that "equations are a vital part of our culture. The stories behind them — the people who discovered or invented them and the periods in which they lived — are fascinating."
Here are 17 equations that have changed the world:
The Pythagorean Theorem
Image: Business Insider What does it mean? The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of its legs.
History: Though attributed to Pythagoras, it is not certain that he was the first person to prove it. The first clear proof came from Euclid, and it is possible the concept was known 1,000 years before Pythoragas by the Babylonians.
Importance: The equation is at the core of much of geometry, links it with algebra, and is the foundation of trigonometry. Without it, accurate surveying, mapmaking, and navigation would be impossible.
In terms of pure math, the Pythagorean Theorem defines normal, Euclidean plane geometry. For example, a right triangle drawn on the surface of a sphere like the Earth doesn't necessarily satisfy the theorem.
Modern use: Triangulation is used to this day to pinpoint relative location for GPS navigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at weforum.org ...
Both brilliant!
Agreed,
Your equations represent fundamental basic equations that must be mastered on the way to the author’s final list.
As basic elements, they are part of the foundation, and far more important, but not as extreme.
Excellent essay. Excellent comments. The fundamental mathematics of Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was used by the North American Aviation engineers in Downey, CA in the 1960’s to make the seventeen Apollo missions. Very impressive.
Pythagoras said, ‘If I have 300 loyal inferiors, then I can gain authority any country.’ Yup. A strong leader with a strong follower can influence a lot of people.
It is a remarkable fact
that i to the i
is the same thing
as the square root of one
divided by e to the pi.
Very nice. Thank you for the poem.
Navier-Stokes and the rest are sideshows, and in fact, Navier-Stokes is neither as important, as pervasive, nor as "extreme" as Laplace's Equation, which doesn't even appear.
May's Map is "extreme" -- under some bizarro world definition that has no meaning in science or mathematics -- but more importantly, it is completely inconsequential.
Fibonacci
Yeah I tried to understand that and just couldn’t
That Equation ... Tested, Solved and Proved.
(Get back with me in about 30 years for the correct numerical or $ answer)
Interesting post.
I note that there were no muzzle formulas. I had thought they were credited with many math breakthroughs.
Here’s another key formula:
Global warming = BS in - BS out
bkmk
You are a Sick Puppy!
That Hurt my Head ... Skull damage still being assessed
(Thanks)
Whore motivation = The Big Bank Theory
So they get no credit at all.
PV=nRT
which is fundamental to thermodynamics
-- and "Ohm's Law,"
V=IR
which is fundamental to electronics.
Einstein believed that physics was about trying to figure out how the real world actually works. Bohr believed, especially after all the weirdness of quantum mechanics was seen, that all physics could hope to do was come up with mathematical models that might have nothing to say about what was really out there in the real world.
I think it's interesting that this article is about important equations that have had such a great effect on civilization and yet we don't know if they are really telling us anything about what's out there beyond our limited, error-prone, and failing senses.
Time wounds all deals.
e^i*pi() + 1 = 0; donc Dieu existe; repondez! - Euler.
E=MC OH BEER THIRTY !
Thanks for posting this.
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