The Pythagorean Theorem is fundamental to geometry. Named after the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, its application has been a fundamental of engineering and design for millennia.
However, despite the name of the theorem, the numerical relationship of the sides of a triangle was known long before Pythagoras was born around 570 BCE. Ancient clay tablets clearly indicate that the ancient Babylonians knew of this relationship as early as 2000 BCE.
As a quick reminder, Pythagorean theorem relates to the lengths of the sides of a right angle triangle. It says that the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle). That is, a2 + b2 = c2, where c is the length of the hypotenuse.
However, Pythagorus clearly wasn't the man who originally came up with the theory. The photograph shows is a clay tablet discovered in Iraq and covered in cuneiform writing. It dates to sometime between 2000 and 1500 BCE. It was likely used as a teaching tool, because it describes how the “Pythagorean” theorem can be used to find the length of the diagonal of a rectangle.
So why does Pythagoras get all the credit, when Babylonians and likely ancient Egyptians and Indians knew the relationship between the sides of a right angle triangle? Nobody knows for sure. But what is sure is that history (and generations of school children) has given Pythagoras the credit.
He spent his early years on the island of Samos, off the coast of modern Turkey. At the age of 40, however, he emigrated to the city of Croton in southern Italy and most of his philosophical activity occurred there. It may be that his European heritage is responsible for his attribution - as much of ancient historical studies have been deeply Eurocentric.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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