The Ancient Greeks That Made a Difference For Today

A majority of the mental and physical tools we use and apply today are founded in the work of the ancient Greeks. The mathematicians, engineers and scientists Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, and Thales developed the knowledge, theories and ideas in which we live our lives today.

Pythagoras plays a major part in modern day mathematics. Discovering a way to make “order out of chaos”, he was “often referred to as the first pure mathematician.” Born on “the island of Samos … in 569 BCE,” Pythagoras was “well educated.” Individuals known as Pythagoreans admired Pythagoras’ knowledge, and “taught other people what he had taught them” including everything Pythagoras believed to be true, and everything he proved. Pythagoras believed that “mathematics is the basis for everything, and geometry is the highest form of mathematical studies,” and that “numbers have personalities, characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.” These beliefs were miraculous ideas to come upon, as there wasn’t much of a base to go off of. While the basics of math were apparent, most advanced theories were beginning to be researched by brilliant mathematicians like Pythagoras. In fact, Pythagoras proved a theory used commonly today known as the Pythagorean theorem. The Pythagorean theorem states, “in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two right-angle sides will always be the same as the square of the hypotenuse (the long side)`.” It is said that “The Babylonians understood this [theory] 1000 years earlier, but Pythagoras [was the one who] proved it.” Another common as well as useful theory Pythagoras came up with was involving triangles once again: “The sum of the angles of the triangle is equal to 180o.” Whether Pythagoras himself or one of the Pythago...

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...planations for these type of things.” Thales was the astronomer that “understood that the earth was round, and that the moon was lit by light reflecting from the sun.” While Thales was an outstanding astronomer that really grasped the concept of space, he was also an important mathematician. He proved “several interesting mathematical ideas,” which included triangles and circles: “a circle is bisected by its diameter [and] the angles at the bases of any isosceles triangle are equal.” Thales was and is an important figure in history as he created the base understanding of space that there is today, as well as valuable mathematics. It’s truly amazing that the brilliant ideas of these ancient greeks are still being applied to a modern day civilization that they could never have imagined. Pythagoras, Archimedes, Thales and Euclid are sincerely exceptional men.