Archimedes of Syracuse

Archimedes, The Gifted Greek Mathematician

Greek mathematician, scientist and inventor Archimedes regarded as one of the leading scientists and inventor of all time though there are very much a few details of his life mentioned. He made a lot of greatest contribution in science, mathematics, astronomy, mechanics and engineering for his discovery of the relation between the surface and the volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder. He is known for his formulation of hydrostatic principle commonly known as "Archimedes Principle" and at the same time he is the first who recognize and used the power of lever. Surely, he is one of the gifted mathematician that ever exists in his era.

Reader's Review

The thought of a man running naked through the streets shouting with joy over a physical and mathematical discovery is one to warm the hearts of all who value knowledge. When Archimedes experienced this flash of joy, little did he know that his actions would become the genesis of a legend that would last for thousands of years. However, he should be remembered for so much more than that and several of his significant mathematical contributions are explored in this book.

It is really amazing to realize how close he was to inventing calculus 22 centuries ago, which was 18 before Newton and Leibniz. With notation that was minimally expressive, he was able to solve problems using a technique that demonstrates at least a rudimentary understanding of the concept of a limit. While many different problems can be solved using calculus, it only takes one breakthrough solution to demonstrate how it can be applied to so many of the others. It can be plausibly argued that algebraic and decimal notations would have been the tools that would have allowed him to overcome those last barriers. One can only speculate on how that would have changed history.

The book is not exhaustive and no attempt is made to make it that. Ten of his most significant discoveries are presented and the solutions are those of Archimedes, although modern notation is used. While the proofs are generally easy to follow, one is often left in awe as to how he thought of how to approach some of these solutions. The explanations are succinct, yet thorough, which is the signature of a solid storyteller.