Who Invented Math – Learn The History And Facts

Mathematics is the science of numbers, shapes, quantities, and their relation. Mathematics helps to create order in our lives and prevent chaos. Math helps students improve their reasoning power, creativity, abstracts, spatial thinking, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and communication skills.  

Math helps us understand the physical world and offers a fantastic way to build mental discipline. Our whole life revolves around the law of mathematics and vice versa. The subject is incredibly essential in our lives. Numbers help us makes sense of the world more efficiently, and math helps us understand numbers.

The mathematical rules and concepts govern even the student who doesn’t have enough interest in the subject. You can love math, hate math but cannot ignore the math. Here we will discuss who created math? And also, go through some of the exciting math facts. But before moving to that, let’s dive deep into the history of math.

The Brief History of Mathematics

The prehistoric mathematical texts were recorded in Mesopotamia and Egypt in 2000-1900 BC. All these texts mention the famous Pythagorean triples, so we can analyze that the Pythagorean Theorem seems to be the most significant mathematical development after basic arithmetic and geometry.

The study of math as a formal subject or say demonstrative discipline started in the 6th century BC by the Pythagoras. He also coined the word “mathematics” from the ancient Greek word “mathema,” which means “the subject of instruction.”

From the 12th century onward, Many Greek and Arabic texts on mathematics were translated into Latin. That resulted in the further development of the subject in Medieval Europe. From ancient times to the Middle Ages, mathematical discoveries occurred after centuries of stagnation.

New mathematical developments started interacting with the latest scientific discoveries at the beginning of Renaissance Italy in the 15th century. This era saw the various groundbreaking work of the two greats, Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, for developing infinitesimal calculus during the 17th century.

International Congress of Mathematicians was founded at the end of the 19th century to continue the spearhead advances in the field. And today, we use mathematical concepts in almost every technology and applied science. Get the Best My Math Lab Answers Here!

Is Math Discovered or Invented?

We know some of you will surely want to travel back and prevent someone from inventing mathematics. Many students find the subject challenging, as the subject takes patience and persistence. For many, the math does not come naturally or intuitively, and it takes a serious effort to understand the subject concepts.

However, traveling back is not possible, so let’s discuss whether math invented or was discovered? Mathematics is not really an invention like the electric bulb or the computer, and it’s more of a discovery. But it still exists in the natural world.     

Mathematics is a vast subject, and it includes different types of studies. And many mathematical discoveries were the result of necessity. There is no surprise that scientists believe many mathematical functions like addition, multiplication, and more appeared many centuries back in different parts of the globe like – China, India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt at the same time.

The oldest clay with math texts dates back to 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Egyptian mathematics records the oldest written text on mathematics called papyruses. These were some of the oldest civilizations on the earth, so we can believe that they have discovered math.

Who Invented Math and Why?

Now we know that mathematics was discovered because of necessity. However, many great mathematicians and scientists around the world invented many mathematical concepts, theorems, and equations. Math is a vast subject, and one person is not responsible for its development.

In fact, it developed slowly over thousands of years with the help of thousands of unknown greats! How did all this start? No one is sure about it. However, we can use our imaginations to come to the logical conclusion about how mathematics might have been started.

If we go back to prehistoric times, we can imagine humans collecting berries to eat. We can assume how this basic task probably gave rise to a need for math and counting system. If you and your prehistoric friend picked a basket full of berries, you’d probably agree to split them evenly.

And for that, you’d need to know how many berries both of you have actually gathered. That means you’d need to count all of them. And this might have given rise to the unit of measurements or, say, numbers. This way, we can imagine that how the counting started. This may have happened in a different part of the world simultaneously.

In the same way, the concept of division might have come into existence when you needed to split the berries evenly. Prehistoric humans were not so advanced with math concepts, but they have started analyzing and developing the most fundamental math concepts.

These early understanding of numbers eventually led to more advanced fields of mathematics, such as algebra, geometry, calculus, and trigonometry!

Over 2,500 years ago, in ancient Greek, we can trace the use of advanced math concepts. Ancient mathematician Pythagoras had many queries about the sides of a right triangle. His questioning, research, and testing developed the formal understanding of triangles that we still study in our schools, known as the Pythagorean Theorem. Many experts believe that around this time, 2,500 years ago, mathematics first became an organized science in ancient Greece.

Since that time, mathematical discoveries and inventions have motivated other mathematicians and scientists worldwide to develop the work of others.  That helped to constantly expand our understanding of mathematics and its relation to the world around us. Do You Have To Take Math In College? Explore more here!

Who is the Father of Math?

Mathematics is one of the most ancient science known to humankind. Archimedes is attributed as the “Father of Mathematics” for his noteworthy contribution to the subject’s development. His incredible contribution is even used in modern times with great vigor.

However, very little is known about his birth, early life, and family, but he is still considered as the one famous classical figure in the field. The great mathematician was born in 287 BC in an astronomer family and died at the age of 75 in the Siege of Syracuse. The name of his astronomer father was Phidias, who was born in Syracuse, the Greek colony of that time.

From early childhood, Archimedes developed a strong interest in science, mathematics, and politics. His entire life was spent in the fascinating world of mathematical equations and problem-solving techniques.

Archimedes’s family support him fully in getting the proper education. That is the reason he joined the school of mathematics in Egypt. Later he was in the service of King Hiero II of Syracuse, where he made notable inventions in math and science. Below are some of the important work of Archimedes in the amazing field:

• He designed a pulley system to help sailors lift objects up and down.
• Archimedes developed a “method of exhaustion: to measure the areas of shapes. That resulted in quantifying the value of Pi.
• The great mathematician established the relationship between spheres and cylinders and also studied the area and surface of a circle and parabola.
•  He was one of the earlier mathematicians who studied the uses of prime numbers and also thought out the concept of infinity.
•  He devised a weapon known as the claw of Archimedes. This Archimedes claw was made to defend the city wall’s seaward portion against any type of military assault. 
• Among his many discoveries, Archimedes Screw is still known. The Archimedes screw consists of an empty cylinder and a hollow spiral inside or outside the cylinder. It used to water from lower to a higher level.
• Archimedes’ principle of measuring an object’s size by placing them in water became very famous, and he wrote several works that helped develop many mathematical concepts.

Besides all these, there is various other work of the great mathematician. An award, ‘The Fields Medal,’ is designed to honor Archimedes’ in memory of his contribution in the field of mathematics. The prestigious award is given to the great mathematicians of their time.

An asteroid was named after this great Greek scientist’s name. Besides these, a famous mountain range is named after the famous Greek mathematician, the father of mathematics, known as Montes Archimedes. The interesting mountain range is situated on the Moon. The popularity of his name is increasing with each passing day because of his extraordinary contribution to mathematics.

What is Pure Mathematics?

Pure mathematics is the basic study of mathematical concepts and structures. The study’s main purpose is to search for a deeper understanding and an expanded knowledge of the subject. In simple words, pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside the math.

Math is an amazing combination of art and science, and pure mathematics lies at its core. Pure mathematics can be classified traditionally into three major fields:

Analysis: It deals with the continuous aspects of mathematics.

Algebra: It deals with the discrete elements of mathematics.

Geometry: It is the study of shapes and sizes and inter-relation between them.

Pure mathematics has existed since Ancient Greece, and the concept was elaborated upon around the year 1900.  When the theories with counter-intuitive properties and the discovery of apparent paradoxes were introduced.

This introduction needs to renew the concept of mathematical rigor and rewrite all mathematics accordingly, with systematic use of axiomatic method. This led many mathematicians to focus on mathematics for its own sake, pure mathematics.

However, what is “pure” in one era often applies later. Finance and cryptography are recent examples of areas in which pure mathematics is involved significantly. Let us see the major differences between pure and applied mathematics. The best way to Learn Math Fast- Tips And Tricks To Follow.

Difference Between Pure and Applied Mathematics

Who Invented Math Symbols?

Nowadays, mathematical symbols and meanings are the same around the world. A multiplication sign is a multiplication sign everywhere, and same is with the square roots symbol. Everyone agrees on what a multiplication and square root sign means. But this was not like this in the past or in recorded history.

Before the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries, math equations were often written using words as part of what historians call the “rhetorical stage” of notation. Even the decimal point was having different symbol everywhere. The mathematician wrote the equations like a sentence as one plus one equals two.

However, numerical notation systems existed as many as three thousand years ago, and mathematicians developed complex functions to work with numbers. But there were no widespread acceptance of symbols from one place to the next. Using words like “plus,” “minus,” “multiplied,” and “equals” was the best way for mathematicians to communicate.

Over the period, mathematicians invented a system that everyone agreed upon. It shifted to what historians call the “symbolic stage” of mathematical notation. These symbols are the language of the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo. So, mathematical symbols have become important for researchers to make groundbreaking discoveries and communicate with one another. This is how mathematical language was developed.

Who Invented Zero in Math – The Amazing Mathematical Discovery

You can’t imagine mathematics, language, or life without zero, yet it hasn’t always been around. Who invented zero, and why? Likely, the origins of zero go as far back as ancient Mesopotamia, and Sumerian people used spaces to demonstrate absences in number columns four thousand years before.

The first time we have a record of a symbol representing zero is in Babylon during the third century BC. However, the Babylonians used a number system based around values of sixty rather than the decimal system we use today.

The Mayans also used similar symbols around 350 AD, using a zero marker in their calendars, which was developed independently of the Babylonians. Surprisingly, the best-known mathematicians among the Ancient Greeks neither had a name for zero nor did they use a placeholder like the Babylonians.

Zero as a Value & Symbol Was Invented in India

The first time humankind understood zero both as a symbol and a value in its own right was in India. In 650 AD, the ancient Indian mathematician Brahmagupta, amongst others, started using small dots under numbers to demonstrate zero.

The dots were called ‘sunya,’ meaning empty, and ‘Kha,’ which means place. So the concept was to represent zero with a null value and a placeholder. He was also the first to demonstrate how zero could be achieved through addition and subtraction and the results of various operations with zero. However, he was wrong when it came to dividing by zero!

We know this mainly because of the Bakhshali manuscript, an ancient Indian text filled with mathematics and Sanskrit texts. The local farmer discovered it in 1881 and was initially thought to be a ninth-century text. However, a few years ago, carbon dating showed the oldest pages from sometime between 224 AD to 383 AD.

Aryabhata was the first great astronomer of the classical Indian era. The great mathematician was born in 476 AD in Ashmaka and spent his later life in Kusumapura. Aryabhata introduced the world with the digit “0” (zero), becoming immortal for his work. He also invented the place value system.  

His book, the Aryabhata, demonstrated various astronomical and mathematical theories in which the Earth was taken to be spinning on its axis. The revolution period of the planets was explained concerning the sun, in other words, and it was heliocentric.

Who Invented Algebra?

Mathematics can be broadly divided into three prime branches Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. Algebra is considered one of the oldest branches in the history of mathematics. It deals with the study of symbols, exponentials, known and unknown variables, and equations.

The Number Theory, Geometry, and analysis depend upon “Algebra.” In simple words, Algebra is a part of mathematics that deals with symbols and the rules to calculate those symbols.

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi is considered the “Father of algebra.” The Persian mathematician wrote a book named “Kitab Al Muhtasar fi Hisab Al Gabr Wa I Muqabala” in Arabic. The great work was later translated into English as ”The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing,” The word ALGEBRA was derived and coined.

The book demonstrates a systematic solution for linear and quadratic equations. As per Al-Khwarizmi, the word algebra is described as ‘reduction’ and ‘balancing’ of subtracted terms that are transposed to other sides of the equation or cancellation of like terms.

Who Invented Mathematical Concepts?

• Mesopotamians developed the first forms of multiplication tables in 2600. Ancient Mesopotamian mathematicians started working on algebra, fractions, and equations in the coming years.
• The numeral system was developed in c.450 BCE by ancient notable Greek mathematicians. Thales of Miletus ( 624 – 546 BC) was known to first lay down guidelines for the conceptual development of geometry.
•  The Pythagoras one of the most notable Greek mathematicians from Samos developed the Pythagoras’ theorem to calculate the length of any sides or the distance between two points on a right-angled triangle, analytic geometry and trigonometric functions.
• Archimedes formulated the hydrostatic principle, and his mathematical work anticipated the integral Calculus 2,000 years before Gottfried Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton.
• The detailed trigonometry tables were developed by Ptolemy (90-168 AD).
• George Boole worked in differential equations and algebraic logic and laid many of the foundations for the digital revolution. He also invented Boolean algebra.
•  In 1th century Sir Isaac Newton & Leibniz invented the differential geometry for the plane curves, which was later developed by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler for the curves in space. He also invented the graph theory.
• The Irish mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805 – 1865) invented the Linear in 1843.
• The German mathematician and logician Georg Cantor invented a set theory of abstract f entities and made it into a mathematical discipline during 1874 and 1897.
•  Venn diagrams were introduced by the British mathematician John Venn (1834-1923) that is used in probability, logic, and statistics.
• Giuseppe Peano in 1889 invented the mathematical system of natural numbers based on an axiomatic system.
• The concept of zero appeared in many cultures, but the first actual written zero appeared in the Indian subcontinent in 876 AD.

Who Invented Math Homework?

 
We continue with the long debate about whether the homework is helpful or harmful for hours. However, pause and understand who really invented homework and its objective. It was Roberto Nevilis, an Italian pedagog who invented homework. The simple idea was working behind homework. Nevilis wanted his teachings not to be lost when students left the class as a teacher.

Many students failed to outperform themselves despite his hard work, and he decided to take different measures. And, that’s the result, homework was born. What we understand today was not the objective of Nevilis. He instead saw it as an alternative means to punishment, as physical punishment was not an option. And we can assume that’s where the math homework was also invented.

Conclusion

Mathematics is an amazing combination of art and science. Our every sphere of everyday life depends upon the world of numbers. Mathematics is not only limited to numbers; it’s a study of various subjects and research project. Scientists use mathematical equations and concepts to understand the most secret universal phenomena. Whether you love a subject or not, math is everywhere in your daily life.

We hope you must have liked the amazing journey of ancient mathematics to modern mathematics we have presented here. If you really want to improve your understanding and knowledge on the subject, MyMathLabAnswer.com is the best platform to study mathematics. Professional mathematicians are always ready to offer their expertise to solve your math assignments, homework, quizzes, and even take the exam for you. So, don’t wait! Get the best math assignment help now.