For many of us, the mere words “Pythagoras’s theorem” are enough to revive pencil-smudged exercise books and desperate attempts to copy classmates’ work. And yet, it turns out the name that has struck dread in countless school kids over the centuries is about as accurate as this writer’s attempts at geometry. Because although it is assumed that the legendary Greek philosopher Pythagoras himself was to thank for the equation a2 + b2 = c2, it turns out it was being used some 1,000 years before his time. Archaeologists have found the equation on a Babylonian tablet which was used for teaching back in 1770 BCE – centuries before Pythagoras’s birth in around 570 BC, as IFL Science notes. Another earlier tablet, from between 1800 and 1600 BC, even features a square with labelled triangles inside. Translations of the markings, which followed the base 60 counting system used by ancient Babylonians, prove that these mathematicians were familiar with Pythagorean theorem (although, obviously, they didn’t call it that) as well as other advanced mathematical principles. In a paper dedicated to the discovery, data scientist Bruce Ratner wrote: "The conclusion is inescapable. The Babylonians knew the relation between the length of the diagonal of a square and its side: d=square root of 2. "This was probably the first number known to be irrational. However, this in turn means that they were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem – or, at the very least, with its special case for the diagonal of a square [...] more than a thousand years before the great sage for whom it was named." And yet, one key problem remains unsolved: why did the equation become equated with the famous Greek? Well, most likely because Pythagoras wanted it to be. In his paper, Ratner points out that although the Ionian icon is widely considered the first bonafide mathematician, little is known about his specific mathematical achievements. Unlike his successors, he didn’t write any books that we know of, so there’s no written evidence of his work. However, we do have proof that he founded a semi-religious school called the Semicircle of Pythagoras, which followed a strict code of secrecy. As Ratner explained: “Pythagorean knowledge was passed on from one generation to the next by word of mouth, as writing material was scarce. Moreover, out of respect for their leader, many of the discoveries made by the Pythagoreans were attributed to Pythagoras himself. “Consequently, of Pythagoras’ actual work nothing is known. On the other hand, his school practiced collectivism, making it hard to distinguish between the work of Pythagoras and that of his followers. “Therefore, the true discovery of a particular Pythagorean result may never be known.” Still, he stressed, even though Pythagoras wasn’t the brains behind the most famous formula in maths, he does deserve a little credit for putting it on the map. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the surprise departure of former CEO Daniel Zhang, who had been set Monday to take charge of a key subsidiary as...

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has built an artificial intelligence system that rivals the likes of ChatGPT and Google’s Bard but it’s taking a different approach: releasing it for free

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK A top U.S. regulator said on Tuesday there is no way to police

SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--

If you've been wondering when voice assistants would get the generative AI treatment, Amazon has

Peloton is undergoing a significant rebrand, dumping its identity as a seller only of luxury exercise bikes to a heath app for all

Marvel’s latest series, Secret Invasion, is making waves on the internet – though the studio may not be best pleased when it finds out why. Director Ali Selim was greeted with anger from fans after revealing that the opening credits were generated by artificial intelligence. However, he said that the idea of using AI for the sequence, designed by Method Studios, fit into the themes of the show. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He said: “When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it – it just came right out of the shape-shifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?” Selim admitted that he does not “really understand” how the AI works, only that he was interested in it. He said: “We would talk to them about ideas and themes and words, and then the computer would go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change.” The resulting social media backlash was largely around the fact that using AI likely meant graphic designers and animators, who usually craft opening credits, were cut out of the loop. The revelation comes as the Writers’ Guild America is on strike after negotiations with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed. Part of the negotiation was over protecting writers against the use of AI in the creative process. It means that over the last two months, the use of AI to replace humans in creative jobs has been at the forefront of discussions around the strike. Jon Lam, a storyboard artist, wrote on Twitter: “This is salt in the wounds of all Artists and Writers in the WGA strike.” Another person wrote: “I really loved the first episode of Secret Invasion but them using AI ‘art’ for their intro is just wack. Do better Marvel.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Meta's cost-cutting drive looks to be coming to an end but Wall Street isn't too worried about a return to big-spending ways.

For those attending in person, Apple events end pretty chaotically: As soon as the projection

Twitch has launched it's new feature where users can turn landscape clips into vertical videos