9 Famous Mathematicians In History

9 Famous Mathematicians In History

Meet some of the famous mathematicians who have transformed the realm of mathematics and made contribution to the world with their ingenuity. Mathematical discovery is more about curiosity of the human mind rather than talent. The contributions made by these famous mathematicians have positive impacts on disciplines like physics, engineering and computer science.

Euclid of Alexandria

Meet the Greek Mathematician, known as the “Father of Geometry”. Euclid introduced logic-based mathematical proofs where theorems are built from true statements known as “axioms”. Through these axioms, Euclid made contributions in the field of geometry and his work with plane geometry was so comprehensive that it is known as “Euclidean Geometry” today. Euclidean Geometry is basically the study of flat, two-dimensional spaces.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras of Samos is a Greek Philosopher who was credited for the discovery of the formula that we always use when we study geometry in mathematics and that is “The Pythagorean Theorem” which states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypothenuse is the sum of the square of the length of the remaining two sides.

Archimedes

Archimedes, a Greek mathematician and physicist was known for the Archimede’s Principle which basically states that an object immersed in a fluid will experience an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace, the visionary English mathematician who defied conventions and is considered the first computer programmer. She realized that computer could follow a series of simple instructions to perform complex calculations.

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, an English mathematician and physicist was known for his invention in Calculus and formulating the theory of universal gravity. His work on the laws of motion also contributed immensely to the field of physics. Calculus helps us to understand the relationship between an object’s position, velocity and acceleration.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, a German-born physicist, is famously known for devising his theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity and the universe. The most interesting discovery is that time is relative. Say you are nearer to a black hole, time passes slower for you as compared to another observer on Earth. Albert Einstein revolutionized our thinking of space and time.

Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and physicist, is known for laying the foundation for modern theory of probabilities. If you have learnt binomial theorem, you would have learnt something called the “Pascal Triangle” which actually gives you the coefficients in the expansion of any binomial expression.

Emmy Noether

Emmy Noether, a German mathematician, is famous for her work particularly in mathematical physics. She is known for Noether’s Theorem, which states that symmetries in the universe give rise to mathematical conservation laws.

John Nash

John Nash, an American mathematician, known for his work in Game Theory, allows us to understand the world around us in a better way. Basically, as much as possible, every choices that we make has to benefit us the most. Using Game Theory, we can illustrate this using a 2 by 2 table showing us the actions that we can make as well as the outcome of those actions. Using the concept of Game Theory, we can understand why countries with nuclear weapons would not want to fire it at other countries as that would mean “Mutually Assured Destruction”, that is an outcome that is not beneficial and detrimental to all parties.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mathematics may be intimidating, but the ingenuity of these famous mathematicians demonstrates that it can be rewarding. Students often asked what is the point of studying mathematics. Now you can see how mathematics allow us to better perceive and understand the world around us. If there’s one thing to take away, it will be that the discoveries mentioned here didn’t come easy for these famous mathematicians as they have to struggle, experiment and fail many times before they finally succeed. Math is a subject everyone is capable of doing well. A positive mindset will go a long way in improving your math skills.

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