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Pythagoras in popular culture

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Hellenic Post

The ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras and his eponymous theorem have made numerous appearances in art and pop culture, typically as a reference to mathematical endeavors, but also as an example of abstruse higher learning in general.

Pythagorean tiling has been used as proofs by the 9th-century Islamic mathematicians Al-Nayrizi and Thābit ibn Qurra, and later by the 19th-century British amateur mathematician Henry Perigal.[1][2]

At Dulcarnon (literally two-horned) is a reference to the supposed difficulty of the theorem by the 14-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in Troilus and Criseyde.

The premise that Pythagoras had left some writings, the manuscripts which have been lost, forms the premise of Pythagoras' Revenge: A Mathematical Mystery by Arturo Sangalli; it was published on 2011-07-25.[3][4] |-

In the second episode ("Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow"), of second season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, set in the 23rd-century, the long-lived Lanthanite Pelia casually remarks that she hasn't taken a math class "...since Pythagoras made the crap up", implying that she was a contemporary.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Nelsen, Roger B. (November 2003), "Paintings, plane tilings, and proofs" (PDF), Math Horizons, 11 (2): 5–8, doi:10.1080/10724117.2003.12021741, S2CID 126000048. Reprinted in Haunsperger, Deanna; Kennedy, Stephen (2007), The Edge of the Universe: Celebrating Ten Years of Math Horizons, Spectrum Series, Mathematical Association of America, pp. 295–298, ISBN 978-0-88385-555-3. See also Alsina, Claudi; Nelsen, Roger B. (2010), Charming proofs: a journey into elegant mathematics, Dolciani mathematical expositions, vol. 42, Mathematical Association of America, pp. 168–169, ISBN 978-0-88385-348-1.
  2. ^ Aguiló, Francesc; Fiol, Miquel Angel; Fiol, Maria Lluïsa (2000), "Periodic tilings as a dissection method", American Mathematical Monthly, 107 (4): 341–352, doi:10.2307/2589179, JSTOR 2589179, MR 1763064.
  3. ^ Sangalli, Arturo (July 25, 2011). Pythagoras' Revenge: A Mathematical Mystery. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691150192.
  4. ^ "Pythagoras' Revenge: A Mathematical Mystery by Arturo Sangalli" – via www.librarything.com.
  5. ^ "Strange New Worlds Introduces Character Who Can Crossover Into EVERY Star Trek Show". ScreenRant. July 4, 2023.