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#mathhistory — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #mathhistory, aggregated by home.social.

  1. From a Mathematical Curiosity to the Foundation of Internet Security 🧮🧐🔐✨

    In 1636, Pierre de Fermat made a remarkable observation: if you take an integer a, raise it to a prime power p, and then subtract a, the result is always divisible by p. In other words, for a prime p,

    aᵖ ≡ a (mod p).

    For example, when p = 5:
    2⁵ − 2 = 30, which is divisible by 5, and
    3⁵ − 3 = 240, which is also divisible by 5.

    Fermat found this property elegant and tried to spark interest in this curious corner of mathematics. Not everyone was impressed. John Wallis reportedly dismissed such results, remarking, “Big deal; I could find other relationships just as interesting without much effort, and none of them are important.”

    About a century later, Leonhard Euler was encouraged by Christian Goldbach to study Fermat’s ideas. Though initially unenthusiastic, Euler soon uncovered deeper structure within them. His work laid much of the foundation for what we now call modern number theory.

    #Mathematics #Math #NumberTheory #Fermat #Euler #EulerTheorem #FermatsLittleTheorem #ModularArithmetic #RSA #Cryptography #CyberSecurity #HistoryOfMathematics #MathHistory #PrimeNumbers #EulerTotient #AbstractMath #PureMathematics #STEM #ScienceCommunication #MathEducation #EducationalContent #DidYouKnow #MathematicalBeauty #InternetSecurity #Encryption #Curiosity #Innovation #History #Learning #Knowledge

  2. From a Mathematical Curiosity to the Foundation of Internet Security 🧮🧐🔐✨

    In 1636, Pierre de Fermat made a remarkable observation: if you take an integer a, raise it to a prime power p, and then subtract a, the result is always divisible by p. In other words, for a prime p,

    aᵖ ≡ a (mod p).

    For example, when p = 5:
    2⁵ − 2 = 30, which is divisible by 5, and
    3⁵ − 3 = 240, which is also divisible by 5.

    Fermat found this property elegant and tried to spark interest in this curious corner of mathematics. Not everyone was impressed. John Wallis reportedly dismissed such results, remarking, “Big deal; I could find other relationships just as interesting without much effort, and none of them are important.”

    About a century later, Leonhard Euler was encouraged by Christian Goldbach to study Fermat’s ideas. Though initially unenthusiastic, Euler soon uncovered deeper structure within them. His work laid much of the foundation for what we now call modern number theory.

    #Mathematics #Math #NumberTheory #Fermat #Euler #EulerTheorem #FermatsLittleTheorem #ModularArithmetic #RSA #Cryptography #CyberSecurity #HistoryOfMathematics #MathHistory #PrimeNumbers #EulerTotient #AbstractMath #PureMathematics #STEM #ScienceCommunication #MathEducation #EducationalContent #DidYouKnow #MathematicalBeauty #InternetSecurity #Encryption #Curiosity #Innovation #History #Learning #Knowledge

  3. Ah, the riveting tale of math's linguistic struggle from Latin to English—because apparently, people in the #1500s had nothing better to do. 🤓📚 Let's celebrate the groundbreaking revelation that math books eventually switched languages...in only 48 years! 🎉📖 Who knew math was such a drama queen? 🤔💁‍♂️
    tyndale.org/journals/reformj01 #mathhistory #languagechange #linguisticdrama #education #HackerNews #ngated

  4. Ah, the riveting tale of math's linguistic struggle from Latin to English—because apparently, people in the #1500s had nothing better to do. 🤓📚 Let's celebrate the groundbreaking revelation that math books eventually switched languages...in only 48 years! 🎉📖 Who knew math was such a drama queen? 🤔💁‍♂️
    tyndale.org/journals/reformj01 #mathhistory #languagechange #linguisticdrama #education #HackerNews #ngated

  5. I had a lot of fun investigating fast ways to generate sine waves:
    remcycles.net/blog/viete_cheb.

    These digital quadrature oscillators were part of my presentation at the Signal Processing Summit and DSP Online Conference about sonifying the tides by adding up sine waves.

    #math #dsp #mathhistory #jsoftware

  6. 📜💻 Behold, the saga continues with a thrilling tale of 17th-century "computers" – aka glorified abacuses with delusions of grandeur! 🧮⚙️ Dive into this riveting sequel of ancient calculators, where Pascal and Leibniz squabble over who invented the first math machine, and we pretend it's relevant in 2025. 📅🤦‍♂️
    oranlooney.com/post/history-of #ancientcomputers #mathhistory #techhumor #pascalvsleibniz #historicalinventions #HackerNews #ngated

  7. 📜💻 Behold, the saga continues with a thrilling tale of 17th-century "computers" – aka glorified abacuses with delusions of grandeur! 🧮⚙️ Dive into this riveting sequel of ancient calculators, where Pascal and Leibniz squabble over who invented the first math machine, and we pretend it's relevant in 2025. 📅🤦‍♂️
    oranlooney.com/post/history-of #ancientcomputers #mathhistory #techhumor #pascalvsleibniz #historicalinventions #HackerNews #ngated

  8. How many of you published a novel mathematical result while you were in high school?

    😅

    #MathHistory

  9. If birds are getting renamed, why can't we rename Lemma and Theorems?

    Is there anything in the works I am unaware of?

    I throw out mathober prompts all the time when I currate the list that have peoples names.

    #mathHistory #math

  10. If birds are getting renamed, why can't we rename Lemma and Theorems?

    Is there anything in the works I am unaware of?

    I throw out mathober prompts all the time when I currate the list that have peoples names.

    #mathHistory #math

  11. 📖🤓 Ah, the riveting world of math symbols—because obviously, everyone is desperate to know why their #calculator has more obscure squiggles than a modern #art exhibit. 😴🔢 Dr. Drang's deep dive into Rojas's dusty tome is surely what the Internet was clamoring for—because who doesn't want to cozy up with a thrilling bedtime story about the Ampersand? 💤📚
    leancrew.com/all-this/2025/06/ #mathsymbols #mathhistory #DrDrang #Rojas #HackerNews #ngated

  12. 📖🤓 Ah, the riveting world of math symbols—because obviously, everyone is desperate to know why their #calculator has more obscure squiggles than a modern #art exhibit. 😴🔢 Dr. Drang's deep dive into Rojas's dusty tome is surely what the Internet was clamoring for—because who doesn't want to cozy up with a thrilling bedtime story about the Ampersand? 💤📚
    leancrew.com/all-this/2025/06/ #mathsymbols #mathhistory #DrDrang #Rojas #HackerNews #ngated

  13. `Although the term "matrix" was introduced into mathematical literature by James Joseph Sylvester in 1850, the credit for founding the theory of matrices must be given to Arthur Cayley, since he published the first expository articles on the subject. ... Cayley's introductory paper in matrix theory was written in French and published in a German periodical [in 1855]`

    mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/

    #history #math #mathHistory #matrix #linearAlgebra #algebra

  14. `Although the term "matrix" was introduced into mathematical literature by James Joseph Sylvester in 1850, the credit for founding the theory of matrices must be given to Arthur Cayley, since he published the first expository articles on the subject. ... Cayley's introductory paper in matrix theory was written in French and published in a German periodical [in 1855]`

    mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/

    #history #math #mathHistory #matrix #linearAlgebra #algebra

  15. OMG, it took humanity 100 years to solve a math problem that today’s students learn in a week?! 🤯 Must've been a wild ride from "How do we map this circle with straight lines?" to "Oops, we solved it by accident!" 🗺️📜 Guess Mercator should've just waited for the next edition of "Calculus for Dummies!" 📚🤣
    liorsinai.github.io/mathematic #mathhistory #education #mathproblems #problemSolving #calculus #funfacts #HackerNews #ngated

  16. OMG, it took humanity 100 years to solve a math problem that today’s students learn in a week?! 🤯 Must've been a wild ride from "How do we map this circle with straight lines?" to "Oops, we solved it by accident!" 🗺️📜 Guess Mercator should've just waited for the next edition of "Calculus for Dummies!" 📚🤣
    liorsinai.github.io/mathematic #mathhistory #education #mathproblems #problemSolving #calculus #funfacts #HackerNews #ngated

  17. The #irony is palpable: a piece on #logarithms that's as accessible as a locked vault in Fort Knox, courtesy of #ModSecurity 😂🔒. This riveting read on mathematical history has been replaced by the stark beauty of a 406 error page—truly a triumph of modern web design! 🚫📉
    lostartoflogarithms.com/ #webdesign #406error #mathhistory #HackerNews #ngated

  18. The #irony is palpable: a piece on #logarithms that's as accessible as a locked vault in Fort Knox, courtesy of #ModSecurity 😂🔒. This riveting read on mathematical history has been replaced by the stark beauty of a 406 error page—truly a triumph of modern web design! 🚫📉
    lostartoflogarithms.com/ #webdesign #406error #mathhistory #HackerNews #ngated

  19. It's well-known that the ancient Greek had a huge influence on math, but it just occurred to me: Did the Romans do anything?

    #math #mathHistory #romanMath #mathematics

  20. It's well-known that the ancient Greek had a huge influence on math, but it just occurred to me: Did the Romans do anything?

    #math #mathHistory #romanMath #mathematics

  21. The Quest to Decode the Mandelbrot Set, Math’s Famed Fractal

    By Jordana Cepelewicz

    For decades, a small group of mathematicians has patiently unraveled the mystery of what was once math’s most popular picture. Their story shows how technology transforms even the most abstract mathematical landscapes.

    quantamagazine.org/the-quest-t

    #MandelbrotSet #mathematics #mathhistory

  22. The Quest to Decode the Mandelbrot Set, Math’s Famed Fractal

    By Jordana Cepelewicz

    For decades, a small group of mathematicians has patiently unraveled the mystery of what was once math’s most popular picture. Their story shows how technology transforms even the most abstract mathematical landscapes.

    quantamagazine.org/the-quest-t

    #MandelbrotSet #mathematics #mathhistory

  23. Ever wondered since when the symbol = has been in use to claim equality of mathematical terms or equations?

    MacTutor by the University of St. Andrews provides Math-history background on this as well as on many other subjects.

    Go down the rabbit hole here:

    mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/

    #math #mathhistory #history

  24. The #SuryaSiddhanta's methods for calculating the positions of the sun and moon at times specify that the absolute value of the jya of an arc must be added to some value in some cases, and subtracted in others.

    Since the jya is the predecessor to the modern sine, in this we see the earliest inklings of negative values of trigonometric functions. It's interesting how ideas develop.

    #Jyotisha #Trigonometry #Maths #HistoryOfMaths #MathHistory