The Facts On File Algebra Handbook

He approximated the VALUEof piat 3.1416, calculated the length

of the year, and devised the Ptolemy Theorem used in

trigonometry, in which a QUADRILATERALis inscribed within a

CIRCLE. He also compiled a star catalogue of 1,028 stars, and

wrote several other books, including Handy Tables,for the

calculation of the positions of heavenly bodies; Analemna,which

dealt with the mathematics for the construction of a sundial; and

Planetary Hypothesis,which was written for ordinary people to

understand the heavens. He also wrote Optics,which discussed

reflection and refraction, Tetrabiblos,a series of four books on

astrology, and Geography,a series of eight books on cartography,

with the COORDINATESof approximately 8,000 different places

defined by longitude and latitude. During the mid-1400s, Latin

translations of Geographybecame such prized possessions that

owning one became a status symbol. Because Ptolemy created

his mathematics to fit to the theories of the day, instead of using

mathematics to create original theories based on the facts, many

scientists spoke out against his work. The most notable of these

was SIR ISAAC NEWTON, who called him a fraud, and declared

that Ptolemy’s work was “a crime against science and

scholarship.” Next to The Elements, written by EUCLID OF

ALEXANDRIA, the Almagestis one of the longest-lived textbooks

in history.

Pythagoras of Samos(ca. 569–475) A Greek philosopher and leader

of a secret society dedicated to religion and mathematics,

Pythagoras is often known as the “first pure mathematician,”

and as founder of a group of followers known as the

mathematikoi,whose core belief was that all reality was

mathematical. Basing their work on defining principles, the

Pythagoreans’ mathematics did not revolve around solving

specific problems, but instead focused on concepts and abstract

philosophical mathematical ideas. Pythagoras’s contributions

are in music theory, number properties, the discovery of

IRRATIONAL NUMBERS, and his famous THEOREMfor the RIGHT

TRIANGLE, the PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM.

Rasiowa, Helena(1917–94) Polish mathematician who studied in the

underground version of the University of Warsaw after it was

closed by the Nazis in 1939. Rasiowa eventually earned her

master’s degree in 1946 from the university, and devoted her

BIOGRAPHIES Pythagoras of Samos – Rasiowa

BIOGRAPHIES Pythagoras of Samos – Rasiowa