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Pythagoras of Samos
Pythagoras of Samos, who lived around 500 bc, was a mathematician, philosopher and religious teacher, and is best known for the mathematical theorem that bears his name.
However, none of his writings survive, and it is apparent from megalithic carvings that the relationship between the sides of a right triange were known as early as 2,500 bc. So it is not likely that Pythagoras actually originated the theorem, but he may have provided the first rigorous proof.
The Pythagorean Theorem
The theorem is commonly summarised as "The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides".
The theorem also applies to right triangles in three dimensional space. E.g. With a triangle opq with the upright oq lying along the z axis, and the base op lying between the x and y axes:
d2 = x2 + y2 + z2
where:
d is the hypotenuse (i.e. p to q).
x is distance along the x axis ( i.e. o to r).
y is the distance along the y axis (i.e. o to s).
z is the distance along the z axis (i.e. o to q).
Further information on the Pythagorean theorem may be found here.
Further information on Pythagoras' life and teachings may be found here.
