Galileo, a Square? No, a Cube!
Feb. 5th, 2016 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowWhen I teach history of math, there are a number of set pieces that anchor the series of lectures: Galileo, Descartes, Newton, the 19th-century mathematical revolution.... Galileo is one of my favorites. He did so many things that I have to focus in on just a few: his observations of Venus (off which I hang a long discussion of the history of models of the Solar System), his work on ballistic motion (with his debunking of Aristotle, his experiments with inclined planes, and his discovery of orbital free fall), his study of the cycloid and other proto-calculus work, and his discovery and elucidation of the square-cube law.
Sometimes I forget, and leave something out. Last year, I somehow forgot the square-cube law, and this year I almost did it again; but I caught it in time. This year's students are a good bunch - they keep asking good questions and demanding clarifications. We had a fine discussion of the square-cube law, talking about giants, Spider-Man, houseflies and water-striders, Robert Wadlow, and - of all things - cancerous tumors, and the broader topic of dimensional analysis.
I'm pleased with this class. We're about ready to dive into Descartes, and the radical changes he brought to mathematics and its methodology. I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll react.
Sometimes I forget, and leave something out. Last year, I somehow forgot the square-cube law, and this year I almost did it again; but I caught it in time. This year's students are a good bunch - they keep asking good questions and demanding clarifications. We had a fine discussion of the square-cube law, talking about giants, Spider-Man, houseflies and water-striders, Robert Wadlow, and - of all things - cancerous tumors, and the broader topic of dimensional analysis.
I'm pleased with this class. We're about ready to dive into Descartes, and the radical changes he brought to mathematics and its methodology. I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll react.
