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Showing posts from April, 2014

Pythagorean Legends, Pythagorean Triples

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The Pythagoreans were a secret society in ancient Greece, a mystical brotherhood dedicated to mathematical study. Their motto was "All is number." Esoteric groups such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians claim descent from the Pythagorean Brotherhood. The central assumption of the Pythagorean brotherhood was that the entire universe could be explained by careful application of whole numbers or their ratios (i.e. fractions, or rational numbers). Legend has it that when a member of the cult of Pythagoras proved that even something as simple as the diagonal of a square could not be measured using whole numbers or their ratios, he was summarily executed to avoid insulting prevailing Pythagorean doctrine. Nevertheless, Pythagorean theories have been applied over the centuries to such diverse problems such as building the great pyramids of Egypt, establishing musical scales, and mapping the orbits of planets. The good ol ' Pythagorean Theorem is one of the most...

Pythagorean Legends, Pythagorean Triples

Image
The Pythagoreans were a secret society in ancient Greece, a mystical brotherhood dedicated to mathematical study. Their motto was "All is number." Esoteric groups such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians claim descent from the Pythagorean Brotherhood. The central assumption of the Pythagorean brotherhood was that the entire universe could be explained by careful application of whole numbers or their ratios (i.e. fractions, or rational numbers). Legend has it that when a member of the cult of Pythagoras proved that even something as simple as the diagonal of a square could not be measured using whole numbers or their ratios, he was summarily executed to avoid insulting prevailing Pythagorean doctrine. Nevertheless, Pythagorean theories have been applied over the centuries to such diverse problems such as building the great pyramids of Egypt, establishing musical scales, and mapping the orbits of planets. The good ol ' Pythagorean Theorem is one of the most...

Pythagorean Legends, Pythagorean Triples

Image
The Pythagoreans were a secret society in ancient Greece, a mystical brotherhood dedicated to mathematical study. Their motto was "All is number." Esoteric groups such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians claim descent from the Pythagorean Brotherhood. The central assumption of the Pythagorean brotherhood was that the entire universe could be explained by careful application of whole numbers or their ratios (i.e. fractions, or rational numbers). Legend has it that when a member of the cult of Pythagoras proved that even something as simple as the diagonal of a square could not be measured using whole numbers or their ratios, he was summarily executed to avoid insulting prevailing Pythagorean doctrine. Nevertheless, Pythagorean theories have been applied over the centuries to such diverse problems such as building the great pyramids of Egypt, establishing musical scales, and mapping the orbits of planets. The good ol ' Pythagorean Theorem is one of the most...