Blog Response: Reflection on Euclid

    The first line of Millay’s poem elevates Euclid above the rest of humanity in terms of intellectual insight. By stating that “Euclid alone has looked on beauty bare”, she thinks that Euclid is the only person to have truly looked on beauty. I think Millay expresses the massive value of Euclid’s contributions in this way. Also, it implies that she defines beautyas something mysterious and extraordinary.

    One of the greatest mathematicians of all time, Euclid is frequently referred to as the "father of geometry." I believe Euclid is influential since his work is more than just an explanation of geometry or even mathematics. He proposed the mathematical thinking that implies that mathematics is a logical system. The ideas of western philosophers have been influenced by his use of logic and proof for every theorem up until today. Descartes and Newton, two great philosopher mathematicians, used Euclid’s framework and format to demonstrate their works as well. Euclidian geometry is the standard geometry that most of us learned in school. From my personal experience, I learned his proof of the Pythagorean theorem, which shows that the square on the side opposite the right angle in right-angled triangles is equal to the sum of the squares on the sides containing the right angle.

 

 

Comments

  1. Amanda FritzlanDecember 19, 2022 at 3:21 PM

    I agree with you about the portrayal of Beauty as mysterious and extraordinary.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Response: Arithmetic of the Medieval Universities

      “ The Greeks were concerned with the education of free men as future citizens. Plato, whose plan was a theoretical one probably never put into actual practice but nevertheless reflecting the spirit and ideal of his period, conceived of such education as the sole occupation of the first thirty-five years of a man's life… Only then would a man be equipped to take his rightful place as a useful member of society” (Shrader, 1967, pp. 264) .  This  statement  portrays that how education is taken seriously by Greeks. For me, who has been  going through the  curriculum for nearly 20 years, it is tremendous to focus 35 years on education. At the same time, I fully agree with Plato’s thoughts and opinion on education. While in the curriculum, I personally feel that education is endless, and life is a series of learning.  I would also define a teacher as a lifelong learner. Also, I think that teacher is like an agent of agency that guides ...
Read more

Joseph's "The Crest of the Peacock"

             Joseph’s “The Crest of the Peacock” shows multicultural roots of non-European mathematics and the great impact that the Egyptians and Babylonians had on the Greeks. He also investigates the transfer of mathematical concepts from the East to the West in more detail. The book demonstrates recent research on the history of mathematics in Egypt, Mesopotamia, early Islamic civilizations, China, and India. Throughout the reading, there are three points that surprised me.              Joseph states that the ideology of European superiority, derived from European dominance and expansion in Asia and Africa, is one of the most influential factors that “pushed back the origins of written mathematical records by at least 1500 years.” ( Joseph, 1991, p.4) This surprised me as I have believed that European mathematicians are central in the development of mathematics. I realized again that what ...
Read more

The Eye of Horus

       The Egyptian eye is one of the most recognizable symbols of ancient Egyptian culture. The eye is a common motif in Egyptian art, jewelry, and sculpture, among other cultural artifacts. The eye is referred to be the "all-seeing eye" in Egyptian religion and culture, and it frequently stands both protection and wisdom. Especially, The Eye of Horus is associated with healing and wisdom.      According to the Eye of Horus myth, Horus’s left eye was shattered into six pieces during the fight with his uncle Set over the Egyptian throne, but it is said that Thoth healed his left eye with magical power. Hence, the Eye of Horus now represents the wholeness which I found very interesting.  The six components of the Eye of Horus, which represent the six pieces of Horus's broken eye, were also used as a system of measurement. The most intriguing point of the Eye of Horus is that each of the six pieces represents both a different unit fraction and a h...
Read more