Secret Formula (eBook)

How a Mathematical Duel Inflamed Renaissance Italy and Uncovered the Cubic Equation

Fabio Toscano (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2020
176 Seiten
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-20032-3 (ISBN)

Infos

The legendary Renaissance math duel that ushered in the modern age of algebraThe Secret Formula tells the story of two Renaissance mathematicians whose jealousies, intrigues, and contentious debates led to the discovery of a formula for the solution of the cubic equation. Niccolo Tartaglia was a talented and ambitious teacher who possessed a secret formulathe key to unlocking a seemingly unsolvable, two-thousand-year-old mathematical problem. He wrote it down in the form of a poem to prevent other mathematicians from stealing it. Gerolamo Cardano was a physician, gifted scholar, and notorious gambler who would not hesitate to use flattery and even trickery to learn Tartaglia's secret.Set against the backdrop of sixteenth-century Italy, The Secret Formula provides new and compelling insights into the peculiarities of Renaissance mathematics while bringing a turbulent and culturally vibrant age to life. It was an era when mathematicians challenged each other in intellectual duels held outdoors before enthusiastic crowds. Success not only enhanced the winner's reputation, but could result in prize money and professional acclaim. After hearing of Tartaglia's spectacular victory in one such contest in Venice, Cardano invited him to Milan, determined to obtain his secret by whatever means necessary. Cardano's intrigues paid off. In 1545, he was the first to publish a general solution of the cubic equation. Tartaglia, eager to take his revenge by establishing his superiority as the most brilliant mathematician of the age, challenged Cardano to the ultimate mathematical duel.A lively account of genius, betrayal, and all-too-human failings, The Secret Formula reveals the epic rivalry behind one of the fundamental ideas of modern algebra.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.5.2020
• Übersetzer: Arturo Sangalli
• Zusatzinfo: 2 b/w illus.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Geometrie / Topologie
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Geschichte der Mathematik
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Mathematische Spiele und Unterhaltung
• Schlagworte: Addition • Alessandro Piccolomini • Algebra • algebraic equation • Algebraic operation • Andrea Alciato • Apprenticeship • Approximation • arithmetic • Arithmetica • Ars Magna • Ars Magna (Gerolamo Cardano) • Arturo Sangalli • Astrology • Auditing (Scientology) • binomial coefficients • Binomial Theorem • Blaise Pascal • Boasting • Brescia • Calculation • Cardano-Tartaglia formula • Career • Carl Friedrich Gauss • coefficient • Coefficients • Cube root • Cubic function • Curriculum • Diophantus • Ducat • Equation • erudition • Euclid's elements • Euler's Pioneering Equation • Fibonacci • Geometry • Gerolamo Cardano • grammar • Grammar school • Handbook • Horoscope • Ian Stewart • Imaginary Numbers • Integer • irrational number • Isaac Newton • Italian renaissance • I Wish (manhwa) • Johannes Gutenberg • Joseph-Louis Lagrange • Lecture • lecturer • leibniz • Liber Abaci • Lodovico Ferrari • Lombardy • Luca Gaurico • Luca Pacioli • ludovico • Maria Gaetana Agnesi • Mathematical problem • mathematician • Mathematics • Medieval university • Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi • Multiplication table • Negative number • Negative numbers • Nickname • Northern Italy • Notation • Omar Khayyam • Omar Khayyám • Ottaviano • Palinode • Pamphlet • Paolo Ruffini • Philosopher • Piero della Francesca • Pierre de Fermat • Piovano Arlotto • plagiarism • Pope Gregory XIII • Pope Paul III • Positional notation • public lecture • Quadratic equation • Quantity • Rafael Bombelli • Renaissance • Renaissance men • Requirement • resentment • result • Robin Wilson • roman numerals • roots of the cubic function • school • scientific notation • Scipione del Ferro • Scotto • Second Letter (Plato) • Significant figures • Sign (mathematics) • signoria • solid geometry • square root • stipulation • Summation • Surname • Surveying • Tartaglia • Tartaglia (commedia dell'arte) • Tax • Textbook • theory • theory of equations • treatise • typography • University of Bologna • University of Padua • University of Pavia • Vitruvius • Writing
• ISBN-10: 0-691-20032-7 / 0691200327
• ISBN-13: 978-0-691-20032-3 / 9780691200323