Hypatia (born c. 350–370; died 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt.
She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria where she taught philosophy and astronomy. Hypatia constructed astrolabes and hydrometers, but did not invent either of these, which were both in use long before she was born. In March 415 AD, she was murdered by a mob of Christians led by a lector named Peter.
Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of.
Over 1,000 years before the internet and smartphone apps, Persian scientist and polymath Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī invented the concept of algorithms.
German mathematician Emmy Noether was born #OTD in 1882.
One of her most significant contributions is Noether's Theorem, which establishes a fundamental connection between symmetries & conservation laws in physics. This theorem has had profound implications in fields such as quantum mechanics, particle physics & field theory. Despite facing discrimination as a woman in academia during her time, Noether persevered & made enduring contributions to mathematics and physics.
Happy birthday to Srinivasa Ramanujan Indian mathematician who was born today 136 years ago!
Though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics, he made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable. Today, India celebrates National Mathematics Day to commemorate Ramanujan's birth anniversary. via @wikipedia
British Mathematician also called the first computer programmer Ada Lovelace died #OTD in 1852. She is known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation.
Babbage's friend Charles Wheatstone commissioned Ada Lovelace to translate Menabrea's paper into English. She then augmented the paper with notes, which were added to the translation.
American mathematician Katherine Johnson died #OTD in 2020.
She calculated & analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon. She earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".
Italian mathematician, philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian Maria Gaetana Agnesi died #OTD in 1799.
She was the first woman to write a mathematics handbook. The most valuable result of her works was the Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana (1748) and "was regarded as the best introduction extant to the works of Euler". The goal of this work was to give a systematic illustration of the different results and theorems of infinitesimal calculus.
392 years ago, the English mathematician and clergyman William Oughtred introduced the multiplication sign ✕ for the first time. via @fermatslibrary.
Oughtred was the first to use logarithmic scales and sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division. He is credited with inventing the slide rule in about 1622. He also introduced the abbreviations "sin" and "cos" for the sine and cosine functions. via @wikipedia
For #ArtAdventCalendar Day 10: Happy birthday to Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), who published the first computer program. She worked together with Charles Babbage, the inventor of the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine (the first - analogue! - #computers), correcting his notes on how to calculate Bernoulli Numbers with the Analytical Engine. 🧵1/n
British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell died #OTD in 1970. He was one of the early 20th century's most prominent logicians and a founder of analytic philosophy, along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, his friend and colleague G. E. Moore, and his student and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. Together with his former teacher A. N. Whitehead, Russell wrote Principia Mathematica. via @wikipedia
Two months ago, our TPGi colleague Dan O'Mahony passed away unexpectedly.
In his honour, we decided to finish and publish an article he'd been working on for our KnowledgeBase, on making mathematics in web content accessible to assistive technology.
This blog post shares that article with the wider community.
Maths and queer side of Mastodon, I need your help!
I work in a uni Maths dept (not an academic, just admin) & would love to highlight the work of trans & non-binary mathematicians for Trans Awareness Week, in a poster. I tried this last year, & struggled to find a lot of people as I don't have much of a network in STEM.
Hungarian mathematician, self-taught engineer and computer scientist, noted as one of the first computer programmers. She was the first woman to execute modern-style code on a computer. Klára made significant contributions to the world of programming, including work on the Monte Carlo method, ENIAC, and MANIAC I. She was introduced to a lot of her work through her husband, John von Neumann. via @wikipedia
Scottish scientist Mary Somerville was born #OTD in 1780.
During her long life, she occupied an important place in the physical sciences. Her books brought readers up to date with subjects ranging from astronomy & anthropology to microscopy & geology. She introduced the English-speaking world to Laplace’s celestial mechanics, wrote an outstanding survey of physical geography, & elucidated the common bonds between the sciences @ a time when they were being carved up into distinct disciplines. 1/
During her youth Ada Lovelace was introduced to the Scot, Mary Somerville, who was known as the ‘Queen of 19th Century Science’ and was in fact the first woman to be accepted into the Royal Astronomical Society. Mary further encouraged Ada’s mathematical and technological development. It was actually through Mary Somerville that Ada first heard of Charles Babbage’s idea for a new calculating engine. 5/ via @historicuk
🎄Calendrier de l’avent des mathématiques insolites & amusantes, Jour #13🎄
Le mille-feuille, ce gâteau français qui cartonne depuis le 17è siècle (1867) porte mal son nom.
Non ce gâteau n'est pas composé de 1000 feuilles, mais seulement 730. Et donc clairement, il y a escroquerie.😉
Explication :
Selon la recette traditionnelle, le mille-feuille se réalise avec une pâte feuilletée, garnie d'une couche de beurre, puis pliée en trois fois six reprises : chacun de ses pliages a donc multiplié par trois le nombre de couches de beurre, et donc au total on se retrouve avec :
3 * 3 * 3 * 3 * 3 * 3 = 729 couches de beurre.
Ces 729 intercalaires de beurre délimitent donc 730 feuilles.
Il y a d'autres variantes avec des recettes aboutissant à 1025 ou 2049 feuilles. Donc toujours pas les 1000 feuilles.
Cela étant, en réalité on pourrait aboutir à 1001 feuilles si la pâte feuilletée est pliée trois fois en deux et trois fois en cinq :
2 * 2 * 2 * 5 * 5 * 5 = 1000 intercalaires et donc 1001 feuilles. Donc c'est presque 1000 feuilles.
Voilà, vous connaissez maintenant tout sur les mathématiques des mille-feuille. Demandez à votre boulanger-pâtissier le nombre de feuilles dans sa recette.😉
Amongst the earliest recorded woman in #mathematics, Hypatia lived during the 3rd century AD in Alexandria, Egypt, which was part of the Roman Empire. She was born at some time between about 350 and 370 and died in 415 C.E. She taught philosophy, #astronomy and mathematics at a Platonist school. She believed in empiricism and natural law. She was the last librarian of the famed Library of Alexandria 🧵1/n
“Since the beginning of #Israel’s war on #Gaza, academics in fields including #politics, #sociology, Japanese #literature, public #health, Latin American and Caribbean studies, Middle East and African studies, #mathematics, #education, and more have been fired, suspended, or removed from the classroom for pro-#Palestine, anti-Israel speech.”
Newton's own annotated copy of Principia Mathematica.
The Cambridge papers of Sir Isaac Newton, including early drafts and Newton’s annotated copies of Principia Mathematica have been added to UNESCO’s International Memory of the World Register. The chief attractions in the Cambridge collection are Newton’s own copies of the first edition of the Principia (1687), covered with his corrections, revisions and additions for the second edition.
Dutch-Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli died #OTD in 1782.
Bernoulli's most famous work is perhaps his application of probability theory to the field of hydrodynamics, particularly in his formulation of what is now known as Bernoulli's principle. This principle describes the relationship between the speed of fluid flow and its pressure, stating that as the speed of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases, & vice versa.
Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer John Napier died #OTD in 1617.
Napier's most famous work is his treatise "Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio", published in 1614. In this work, he introduced logarithms as a means to simplify complex mathematical calculations, particularly in the field of astronomy and navigation. He invented the concept of Napier's bones used for multiplication, and he made advancements in spherical trigonometry.