Pythagoras proves himself │ The History of Mathematics with Luc de Brabandère
How do you prove something?
Proof is an essential part of science.
Pythagoras helped raise mathematics to the scientific level. Discover the role of his famous theorem which helps us calculate the length of the third side of a triangle.
There are dozens of ways to prove his theorem - discover a purely visual proof. Do try this at home!
Philosopher Luc de Branbandère guides us through the history of mathematics, from Egyptians measuring with the Sun to modern algorithms for self-driving cars.
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Pythagoras was a philosopher who influenced Plato and Aristotle. But he's perhaps best known for defining the humble triangle.
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Egyptians were definitely the champions of geometry, but geometry was mostly a set of tools used to measure different things. The next level came from Greece. A couple of people there, among them Pythagoras, introduced the idea of the proof. How do you prove something? And thanks to those people, slowly mathematics became a science. And this is another big milestone in the history of mathematics.
Pythagoras is famous for his theorem. He wanted to explore a relationship. You take a right-angled triangle, and you build three squares on the three sides. Pythagoras wanted to explore the relationship between the three squares. And he proved that the large one is equal to the sum of the two others. There are dozens of examples proving this theory, but one of them is particularly interesting, because it's purely visual.
First, you take the right-angled triangle eight times. You organise two large squares including the eight triangles. The two large squares are equal. Next step, you remove the eight right-angled triangles and look at what's left. On one hand, the large square, and on the other hand, the two other ones. And if you remove equal surfaces from equal surfaces, what's left again, is equal. And that's how you can prove the large square is equal to the sum of the two others.
Ever heard of the golden rectangle and how it leads to calculating the golden number?
Join us next time in ‘The History of Maths’ to find out.
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