Bibliograph

Hidden harmonies, the lives and times of the Pythagorean theorem, Robert Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan ; illustrations by Ellen Kaplan

Type

Label

Hidden harmonies, the lives and times of the Pythagorean theorem, Robert Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan ; illustrations by Ellen Kaplan

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-278) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Hidden harmonies

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

462908431

Responsibility statement

Robert Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan ; illustrations by Ellen Kaplan

Sub title

the lives and times of the Pythagorean theorem

Summary

A squared plus b squared equals c squared. It sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet this familiar expression is a gateway into the riotous garden of mathematics, and sends us on a journey of exploration in the company of two inspired guides, who trace the life of the Pythagorean theorem from ancient Babylon to the present, visiting along the way Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, President James Garfield, and the Freemasons--not to mention the elusive Pythagoras himself. Why does this theorem have more than two hundred proofs--or is it four thousand? And it has even more applications than proofs: Ancient Egyptians used it for surveying, and today astronomers call on it to measure the distance between stars. It works not just in two dimensions, but any number you like, up to infinity. And perhaps most intriguing of all, it opened the door to the world of irrational numbers.--From publisher description

Table Of Contents

The mathematician as demigod -- Desert virtuosi -- Through the veil -- Rebuilding the cosmos -- Touching the bronze sky -- Exuberant life -- Number emerges from shape -- Living at the limit -- The deep point of the dream -- Magic casements -- Reaching through ... or past ... history?

Contributor