Pythagoras Research Paper

Biography of Pythagoras

Pythagoras’ experiences, education, and travels influenced his thinking that lead to the development of his theorem. Pythagoras is a famous mathematician and philosopher best known for his work on the theorem that is named after him called the Pythagorean theorem. According to the theorem, “for any right angle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of the two shorter sides equals the square of the length of the longest side (Harkins 35). Pythagoras may not have invented this famous mathematical theorem, but he was the first person to prove it in a scientific way (35). Therefore, Pythagoras shouldn’t be known for just his famous theorem because he also did many other things in his lifetime. Pythagoras was also a philosopher,

Pythagoras studied with two other philosophers, Anaximander and Pherekydes (Pythagoras of Samos). Thales taught him mathematics and astronomy. Anaximander taught him philosophy and geometry. Another one of Pythagoras’s teacher Pherekydes taught him philosophy (Biography of Pythagoras). Thales advised him to visit Egypt to expand his wisdom and understanding of the world (Karamanides 22).

In Egypt, Pythagoras learned from the Egyptian priest, Oenuphis, who was very wise. Pythagoras liked Egypt and stayed there to study for more than twenty years (Harkins 13). He gained wisdom and even became an Egyptian priest (13). Egyptians taught him many things but especially about astronomy (13). The Egyptians also taught him about the soul and their belief of the reincarnation of the soul (13). According to the Egyptians, “the soul evolves and lives on after the death of the body,” for many generations (Karamanides

Pythagoras and his students believed that numbers were the “essence of all existence, the key to understanding how everything in the world worked” (Famous Scientists 38). Pythagoras believed that “numbers could answer all questions about the human soul, nature, and the cosmos. Numbers could reveal all knowledge” (Harkin 25). Pythagoras also believed that numbers had personalities (Math Open Reference). For example, the number 10 was the most sacred number (Famous