Ad
related to: euclid's principles of geometry and science
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, Elements.Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set of intuitively appealing axioms (postulates) and deducing many other propositions from these.
Euclid's axiomatic approach and constructive methods were widely influential. Many of Euclid's propositions were constructive, demonstrating the existence of some figure by detailing the steps he used to construct the object using a compass and straightedge. His constructive approach appears even in his geometry's postulates, as the first and ...
Euclid (/ ˈ j uː k l ɪ d /; Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης; fl. 300 BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. [2] Considered the "father of geometry", [3] he is chiefly known for the Elements treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely dominated the field until the early 19th century.
The treatise is not a compendium of all that the Hellenistic mathematicians knew at the time about geometry; Euclid himself wrote eight more advanced books on geometry. We know from other references that Euclid's was not the first elementary geometry textbook, but it was so much superior that the others fell into disuse and were lost.
Euclid introduced certain axioms, or postulates, expressing primary or self-evident properties of points, lines, and planes. [39] He proceeded to rigorously deduce other properties by mathematical reasoning. The characteristic feature of Euclid's approach to geometry was its rigor, and it has come to be known as axiomatic or synthetic geometry ...
During Middle Ages, Euclid's Elements stood as a perfectly solid foundation for mathematics, and philosophy of mathematics concentrated on the ontological status of mathematical concepts; the question was whether they exist independently of perception or within the mind only (conceptualism); or even whether they are simply names of collection ...
Euclid gave the definition of parallel lines in Book I, Definition 23 [2] just before the five postulates. [3] Euclidean geometry is the study of geometry that satisfies all of Euclid's axioms, including the parallel postulate. The postulate was long considered to be obvious or inevitable, but proofs were elusive.
Some examples of particularly elegant results included are Euclid's proof that there are infinitely many prime numbers and the fast Fourier transform for harmonic analysis. [197] Some feel that to consider mathematics a science is to downplay its artistry and history in the seven traditional liberal arts. [198]