Why Beauty is Truth
“This solemn oath was—allegedly—sworn in 1539.
Renaissance Italy was a hotbed of innovation, and mathematics was no exception. In the iconoclastic spirit of the age, Renaissance mathematicians were determined to overcome the limitations of classical mathematics. One of them had solved the mysterious cubic. Now he was accusing another of stealing his secret.
The irate mathematician was Niccolo Fontana, nicknamed “Tartaglia,” the stammerer. The alleged thief of his intellectual property was a math...ematician, a doctor, an incorrigible rogue, and an inveterate gambler. His name was Girolamo Cardano, aka Jerome Cardan. Around 1520, Girolamo, a true prodigal son, had worked his way through his father’s legacy. Broke, he turned to gambling as a source of finance, putting his mathematical abilities to effective use in assessing the chances of winning. He kept dubious company; once, when he suspected another player of cheating, he slashed the man’s face with a knife.
They were hard times, and Girolamo was a hard man.MoreLess
Renaissance Italy was a hotbed of innovation, and mathematics was no exception. In the iconoclastic spirit of the age, Renaissance mathematicians were determined to overcome the limitations of classical mathematics. One of them had solved the mysterious cubic. Now he was accusing another of stealing his secret.
The irate mathematician was Niccolo Fontana, nicknamed “Tartaglia,” the stammerer. The alleged thief of his intellectual property was a math...ematician, a doctor, an incorrigible rogue, and an inveterate gambler. His name was Girolamo Cardano, aka Jerome Cardan. Around 1520, Girolamo, a true prodigal son, had worked his way through his father’s legacy. Broke, he turned to gambling as a source of finance, putting his mathematical abilities to effective use in assessing the chances of winning. He kept dubious company; once, when he suspected another player of cheating, he slashed the man’s face with a knife.
They were hard times, and Girolamo was a hard man.MoreLess
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