Science

13175 readers

9 users here now

Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

MinutePhrase@lemmy.ml

661

Pythagorean Theorem Found On Clay Tablet 1,000 Years Older Than Pythagoras (www.iflscience.com)

submitted 5 months ago by Zerush@lemmy.ml to c/science@lemmy.ml

67 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I think that this theorem is at least as old as the pyramids.

[–] billgamesh@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

The recent "Fall of Civilizations" podcast talks a lot about the history of the pyramids. They may still have known a lot about geometery, but the slopes and angles involved in the pyramid building seem to have been trial and error as much as anything

[–] spirinolas@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

A few days ago I was building a Lego set and had to go back 10 steps because of a mistake and that made me very angry.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The pyraamids are way more complex and accurate as been build only by trial and error. It's architects knew exactly what they were doing and also geometric theorema way more complex as the one of "Phytagoras", as shown also in other ancient buildings, which are still difficult to reproduce by modern architects.

[–] billgamesh@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What makes you say that? I'm not an expert. Accurate geometry or not, the pyramids are pretty cool. What about them means it couldn't have been trial and error?

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/ancient-egypt/pyramid

About halfway up, however, the angle of incline decreases from over 51 degrees to about 43 degrees, and the sides rise less steeply, causing it to be known as the Bent Pyramid. The change in angle was probably made during construction to give the building more stability

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yes, the bent pyramid, but that say nothing, maybe simply a design of an bad architect. They always exist, even today.

[–] billgamesh@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

There are records of why it was bent though. It was one of the first pyramids. The king wanted it very tall and steep. he ended up being burried in a pyramid with less slope. Do you have any archeological evidence of complex geometry being used?

Again, the pyramids are an impressive feat of craftsmanship and the organization of labor, but does that mean they employed the pythagorean theorem?

They may very well have known geometry, or at least developed during the course of their civilization but I don't think the pyramids represent sufficient evidence for them definitely knowing the pythagorean theorem

edit: also if you haven't heard the podcast, i recommend it. It's pretty cool