Philosophy
I found myself making the claim the other day that Euclid's Elements was the most influential work in intellectual history. It provided the deductive basis for mathematics that remains today. It is the first great example of a structured axiomatic theory which is the basis for most of the natural sciences. It inspired philosophers to see the world as ordered and capable of a certain sort of reasoned explanation. Its clean proofs and intricate theorems have inspired thinkers for centuries.
Am I right? What other books rival the influence of The Elements? What would you argue is the most influential work in intellectual history?
- Smartest People You've Never Heard Of (poincare Edition)
I'd been considering an occasional series about fascinating characters from intellectual history that are largely absent from the collective mind and with all of the fuss over the confirmation of the solution of Poincare's conjecture (for a nice...
- Howard Zinn - War And Social Justice
Historian Howard Zinn, civil rights activist and author of revolutionary and influential books such as A People's History of the United States and You Can't Be Neutral On a Moving Train, unfortunately passed away yesterday at the age of 87. As...
- The Mark Steel Lectures - Descartes
Rene Descartes is indubitably (get it?) one of the most influential and ambitious thinkers of all time. Look at him looking all French... :) One of the contributions for which I admire him most is the unprecedented unification of algebra and geometry...
- Euclid At Christmas
"All I want for Christmas are these badass Euclidian sculptures" by Robert T. Gonzalez December 3rd, 2013 io9 From London-based "paper engineer" (paper engineer!) Helen Friel comes this creative collection of colorful folding geometric designs. The name...
- Christopher Clavius [1537-1612]...the Euclid Of The Sixteenth Century
Summary: The Jesuit scientist Christopher Clavius (1538-1612) has been the most influential teacher of the renaissance. His contributions to algebra, geometry, astronomy and cartography are enormous. He paved the way, with his texts and his teaching for...
Philosophy
The Most Influential Work in Intellectual History
I found myself making the claim the other day that Euclid's Elements was the most influential work in intellectual history. It provided the deductive basis for mathematics that remains today. It is the first great example of a structured axiomatic theory which is the basis for most of the natural sciences. It inspired philosophers to see the world as ordered and capable of a certain sort of reasoned explanation. Its clean proofs and intricate theorems have inspired thinkers for centuries.
Am I right? What other books rival the influence of The Elements? What would you argue is the most influential work in intellectual history?
- Smartest People You've Never Heard Of (poincare Edition)
I'd been considering an occasional series about fascinating characters from intellectual history that are largely absent from the collective mind and with all of the fuss over the confirmation of the solution of Poincare's conjecture (for a nice...
- Howard Zinn - War And Social Justice
Historian Howard Zinn, civil rights activist and author of revolutionary and influential books such as A People's History of the United States and You Can't Be Neutral On a Moving Train, unfortunately passed away yesterday at the age of 87. As...
- The Mark Steel Lectures - Descartes
Rene Descartes is indubitably (get it?) one of the most influential and ambitious thinkers of all time. Look at him looking all French... :) One of the contributions for which I admire him most is the unprecedented unification of algebra and geometry...
- Euclid At Christmas
"All I want for Christmas are these badass Euclidian sculptures" by Robert T. Gonzalez December 3rd, 2013 io9 From London-based "paper engineer" (paper engineer!) Helen Friel comes this creative collection of colorful folding geometric designs. The name...
- Christopher Clavius [1537-1612]...the Euclid Of The Sixteenth Century
Summary: The Jesuit scientist Christopher Clavius (1538-1612) has been the most influential teacher of the renaissance. His contributions to algebra, geometry, astronomy and cartography are enormous. He paved the way, with his texts and his teaching for...