The Pythagorean Theorem - Educational Outreach

PrefaceThe Pythagorean Theorem has been with us for over 4000years and has never ceased to yield its bounty to mathematicians,scientists, and engineers. Amateurs love it in that most new proofsare discovered by amateurs. Without the Pythagorean Theorem,none of the following is possible: radio, cell phone, television,internet, flight, pistons, cyclic motion of all sorts, surveying andassociated infrastructure development, and interstellarmeasurement. The Pythagorean Theorem, Crown Jewel of Mathematicschronologically traces the Pythagorean Theorem from aconjectured beginning, Consider the Squares (Chapter 1), through4000 years of Pythagorean proofs, Four Thousand Years of Discovery(Chapter 2), from all major proof categories, 20 proofs in total.Chapter 3, Diamonds of the Same Mind, presents severalmathematical results closely allied to the Pythagorean Theoremalong with some major Pythagorean “spin-offs” such asTrigonometry. Chapter 4, Pearls of Fun and Wonder, is a potpourri ofclassic puzzles, amusements, and applications. An Epilogue, TheCrown and the Jewels, summarizes the importance of thePythagorean Theorem and suggests paths for further exploration.Four appendices service the reader: A] Greek Alphabet, B]Mathematical Symbols, C] Geometric Foundations, and D] References.For the reader who may need a review of elementary geometricconcepts before engaging this book, Appendix C is highlyrecommended. A Topical Index completes the book.A Word on Formats and Use of SymbolsOne of my interests is poetry, having written andstudied poetry for several years now. If you pick up atextbook on poetry and thumb the pages, you will seepoems interspersed between explanations, explanationsthat English professors will call prose. Prose differs frompoetry in that it is a major subcategory of how language isused. Even to the casual eye, prose and poetry each have adistinct look and feel.13