Pythagoras
of Samos was the
leader
of a Greek
religious
movement
whose central
tenet was
that all
relations
could be
reduced
to number
relations
("all things
numbers"),
a generalization
that stemmed
from their
observations
in music,
mathematics,
and astronomy.
The
movement was
responsible
for advancements
in mathematics,
astronomy,
and music
theory.
Because
the movement
practiced
secrecy,
and because
no records
survived,
precisely
which contributions
were made
by Pythagoras
himself,
and which
were made
by his
followers,
cannot
be determined
with certainty.
Pythagoras
is pictured
with
a visual
representation
of the
proof of
the theorem
which
has come
to bear
his name.
The use
of triangles
with sides
bearing
a ratio
of 3:4:5
to construct
a right
angle was
known to
antiquity.
And the
Pythagorean
theorem
was known
and used
by the
Babylonians.
Pythagoras
is credited
with the
first recorded
proof of
the theorem
that bears
his name.
Euclid,
likely
independently
of the
work of
the Pythagoreans,
developed
and recorded,
in his Elements,
his own
proof of
the same
theorem. |
