Derek+Belanger+Week+2

In Science we have our idols that when everyone thinks of when a particular science is mentioned, for example Einstein and Newton with physics, Freud with psychology, Mendeleev with biology, ECT. But sometimes we fail to recognize that each of them is linked in the most basic way. None of the fore mentioned scientists would be anywhere in history if it wasn’t for Math. The civilizations of the past created the headway into modern day science with simple developments by creating number systems and through those systems linked different pieces of the world together. The Babylonians, the first true civilization started the revolution with the invention of not only a system of counting but a system of measurement. As Michael Frowler points out in his article “Counting in Babylon” the Babylonians had a system of currency made of grains called Shekels, although later they used gold and silver the world’s first currency is something we could eat today. They also created basic ways to measure quantities such as length, volume, weight, and even time, with the invention of their 360 day calendar, Frowler adds an interesting note that in the calendar is contained, “12 months of 30 days each, with an extra month thrown in every six years or so to keep synchronized with astronomical observations.” He makes the conclusion that all of these are multiples of 60 then 60 must have been the Babylonians favorite number. All these advancements; however wouldn’t have been possible without their number system. Their system relied on repetition of numbers, almost like an early from of the Roman numeral system. Frowler states that, “the Babylonian system is based on the number 60 the same way ours is based on 10. Ours is called a “decimal” system; theirs is a “ sexagesimal ” system.” This means that as we count from 1-99 then move up a space they would do a similar method but the equivalent would be from counting 1-59 then at 60 starting again. This number system was revolutionary and was the start of a huge revelation in the capacity of the human mind. Where the Babylonians seemed to create it, we would leave it up to the Greeks to master it. With such great achievements by scholars like Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagoras the Greeks left us with the foundation of most modern math. They created the foundations of Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, but as Frowler agrees the Greeks should be most thanked for their work in Geometry. Geometry is in everything, the way a ladder stands against a wall, shapes of buildings to make them stronger. Even the Olympics used geometry; by throwing a discus at a 45 degree angle the athlete would be able to achieve the maximum distance. Though out of all the great scholars in the Grecian society my favorite would have to be Pythagoras. His work on right angles to this day will not leave my head. I can still here my High school Geometry teacher repeating A^2 + B^2 = C^2 to this day. Though unknown to me the most prominent Greek scholar in my mind also discovered and showed the difference between rational and irrational numbers. I discovered this while reading “Early Greek Science Thales to Plato” by Frowler. Frowler stated that the “Pythagoreans greatly revered the integers, the whole numbers 1, 2, 3, and felt that somehow they were the key to the universe. One property of the integers we’ll need is the distinction between prime numbers and the rest: prime numbers have no divisors. So, not even number is prime, because all even numbers divide exactly by 2. You can map out the primes by writing down all the integers, say up to 100, cross out all those divisible by 2 (not counting 2 itself), then cross out those divisible by 3, then 5, etc. The numbers surviving this process have no divisors, they are the primes: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37 … Now, any integer can be written as a product of primes: just divide it systematically first by 2, then if it divides, by 2 again, until you get something that doesn’t divide by 2 (and give a whole number). Then redo the process with 3, then 5, until you’re done. You can then write, for example, 12 = 2x2x3, 70 = 2x5x7 and so on.” This helped Pythagoras develop his famous theorem and other Mathematicians of his time further their knowledge into the world of math. It’s amazing that before there were electric lights or even telescopes. Formulas that would be able to calculate how to get to the moon were in their infancy. It just goes to show that Math is the only true constant.