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I need to write a biography on one of the greatest mathematicians, but there are so many, and i need one that will help meanswer this specific question ~ ~~well :
"how does this mathematician work affect or influence your life today...."

Ideas? thanks

By Encomium (Encomium) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

newton did stuff with calculus

By Haithman (Haithman) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 11:04 pm: Edit

newton and euler in my books. euler was a beast.

By Mruncleramos (Mruncleramos) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 12:06 am: Edit

Gauss was beastier. He was the god of mathematics.

By Phoenix1 (Phoenix1) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 12:58 am: Edit

Depends on the criteria.

Based on sheer output, Euler produced the most, 80+ volumes of work.

Based on sheer fame, Newton would be widely recognized for his invention of calculus.

Based on sheer genius, Gauss would be the one to choose, due to his prodigious powers at such an early age.

Based on sheer influence, Euclid would be considered the greatest.

Archimides, although not placed on most people's list, also did remarkable things in mathematics despite not having our traditional number system on hand with him.

In terms of genius, Archimides, Newton and Gauss would be the three ranked. This being based on some of Gauss's praise for both of the former men.

Perhaps it would be easier if you narrowed down to a field in which somebody was particularly influential.

By Irock1ce (Irock1ce) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 01:05 am: Edit

omg.. pythagoreas?..... Taylor.... Stokes... but Gauss is a genius though... along with Euler. Newton too.. but he was a dick.

By Tongos (Tongos) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 08:24 am: Edit

riemann, by far

By 3togo (3togo) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 08:45 am: Edit

I vote for Gauss ... I was just joking with my kids last night that there will be a day they hate this guy Gauss ... he will appear in physics, calculus, and eveything else (at least it seems that way) at the same time ... a little smarter thn the average person.

By Jsberting (Jsberting) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 10:01 am: Edit

I have Guass, Euler and Newton on my mind but i think alot of people in my class will newton so should i do one of these 2, gauss and euler?

By Oasis (Oasis) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 10:29 am: Edit

Just a list:

Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Gauss, Riemann, Cauchy, Pascal...if you have to choose between Gauss and Euler, do Gauss...I think his life is pretty interesting, and you can mention his numerous proofs that are well known and published. I think Euler deals with too many subjects to make an efficient presentation.

By Jsberting (Jsberting) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 05:09 pm: Edit

oh my thanks alot Oasis

By Stefo30385 (Stefo30385) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 09:13 pm: Edit

AAAH!

Why have none of you mentioned ramanujan???
For sheer genius, the man surpasses even Gauss.
He had no formal education and pretty much taught himself all of modern mathematics.

He was on his deathbed and could tell that 1729 was the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two diff ways.

He was also dead sexy
Write about ramanujan, seriously, or andrew wiles

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Friday, October 01, 2004 - 09:24 pm: Edit

i'd go with pythagoras, he affects your life but isn't dead obvious like newton

By Tongos (Tongos) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 12:05 am: Edit

I forgot jon von neumann, quick thinker and a genius.

By Ubercollegeman (Ubercollegeman) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 01:25 am: Edit

"He was on his deathbed and could tell that 1729 was the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two diff ways. "

It's a common misconception that Ramanujan actually instantly recognized that 1729 was Ta(2) (although it wasn't called Ta(2) when he was alive) on his deathbed. It was found later that he actually proved it (well, kind of; Ramanujan wasn't fond of "proofs") earlier in one of his notebooks.

Euler is the master of mathematicians. He revolutionized virtually every single branch of modern mathematics and was arguably the most prolific mathematician of all time (Erdos is a contender). Euler laid the foundation for so much of modern mathematics that it's ridiculous.

Gauss and Newton are generally recognized as the second and third greatest mathematicians of all time. However, neither was really purely a matehmatician; both were heavily interested in Physics, while Euler almost solely devoted his life to mathematics.

In terms of sheer natural genius, Ramanujan may be even better than Euler. It is unfortunate that he died at such a young age and had such improper training. Who knows where mathematics would be had Ramanujan's genius and health been fostered from a young age?

If you want to go back to the Greek mathematicians, Euclid and Archimedes were probably the most important.

By Fendergirl (Fendergirl) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 03:05 am: Edit

archimedes.. the whole story of him is just amazing. we watched a film about it during math club last year in college.

By Haithman (Haithman) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 01:15 pm: Edit

I told you. Euler.

By Bballerd7 (Bballerd7) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 02:44 pm: Edit

Apparently Euler didn't have a life, or was drunk enough to fiddle with so many digits. And I thought Newton was lifeless.


----> interesting note: Newton calculated/studied the bible throughout his whole life, thinking it contained God's "secret codes to the universe" and after using about 60,000 pages of work, finally predicted that the end of the world will arrive in 2060. But he even said that he was not "100% sure" but "very likely".

Ladies and gentlemen, God says to us all, "Just kick back and enjoy your life, you impudent dorks!"

By Phantom (Phantom) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 06:29 pm: Edit

This is one funny thread.

By Jsberting (Jsberting) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 08:30 pm: Edit

lol my mind is bouncing all over the place !@!@

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 10:51 pm: Edit

what would we do with mathmeticians