So, I'm not going to lie. Before I began the reading on Pythagoras, I said to myself, "Okay, the only thing I know about Pythagoras is his theorem, A^2+B^2=C^2... So what does that have to do with anything?" Post reading, obviously, it all makes sense.
That the Pythagorean Theorem is merely the tip of the Pythagorean iceberg is the perfect analogy. As we all read, Pythagoras was "an ancient radical," but huge nonetheless, achieving "semi-divine status." He developed these simple yet well thought out formulas and means of making these numbers work beautifully together. He even developed a means of tuning lutes and other stringed instruments, notably means that sounded poorly, "like a drunkard up and down the scale," not that it mattered, it was all about the numbers. Numbers were the root of everything.
When things like zeros and irrationals came into play, the whole system went kaput. The section "Zero" from Nothing Comes of Nothing mentions that the Greeks refused to acknowledge such numbers and kept the whole hole in their system under wraps. This is the parallel I saw between the truth of numbers and the truth of the universe (it should be noted that Pythagoras supported the idea of a geocentric solar system). Hippasus was thrown overboard for revealing the truth about irrational numbers, "for ruining a beautiful theory with harsh facts." I think that quote right there sums up the motivation. "Zero" ends its passage by saying "...it was not ignorance that led the Greeks to reject zero, nor was it the restrictive Greek number-shape system. It was philosophy. Zero conflicted with the fundamental philosophical beliefs of the West, for contained within zero are two ideas that were poisonous to Western doctrine."
More about this is sure to come in class.
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