When Isaac Beeckman (1588–1637) was introducing the young René Descartes to mathematical physics in Breda in 1618, he gave him exercises to help him develop his skill in this new discipline. One of those exercises was to derive the hydrostatic … Continue reading →| The Renaissance Mathematicus
The magic of conformal maps transforms "impossible" physics problems into simple algebra exercises. Conformal maps also let us navigate across the surface of the Earth.| Galileo Unbound
Gerardus Mercator warped the world to flatten it. He created a conformal map that helped early navigators hold courses of constant bearing across vast oceans.| Galileo Unbound
The ancient Babylonians used a sexagesimal numeral system with innovative multiplication techniques to manage complex calculations for land ownership, allowing them to effectively handle large numbers with fewer memorized values.| Galileo Unbound
We have already looked at the philosophical motivation behind the mathematisation of science in the early modern period as well as the impetus supplied by the mathematical practitioners but there i…| The Renaissance Mathematicus
Back in 2020, I wrote a very positive review of Benjamin Wardhaugh’s fascination volume, The Book of Wonder: The Many Lives of Euclid’s Elements. This led me to also writing a positive review of Reading Mathematics in Early Modern Europe of which Wardhaugh was both a … Continue reading →| The Renaissance Mathematicus
Today we look at the life and work of the physicist and mathematician, Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647), who is the second member of what I have termed the Galilei-Castelli school of mathema…| The Renaissance Mathematicus
Have written far too many words damning Kate Kitagawa & Timothy Revell’s The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & Its Unsung Trailblazers (Penguin,…| The Renaissance Mathematicus
