Errara Humanum Est

Agent Smith said:
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Shouldn't the equation over MATH help be [imath]a^2 + b^2 = c^2[/imath]?
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I suspect it represents someone who needs help -- badly!

On the other hand, it's a perfectly valid equation; it just reminds you of another, with a particular meaning. No one is saying what a, b, and c are, or even whether the equation is true.

(You wouldn't believe the number of people I run across who think that [imath]a^2 + b^2 = c^2[/imath], by itself, is the Pythagorean theorem.)
 
Dr.Peterson said:
I suspect it represents someone who needs help -- badly!

On the other hand, it's a perfectly valid equation; it just reminds you of another, with a particular meaning. No one is saying what a, b, and c are, or even whether the equation is true.

(You wouldn't believe the number of people I run across who think that [imath]a^2 + b^2 = c^2[/imath], by itself, is the Pythagorean theorem.)
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Pythagoras (requiescat in pace) has been the brand ambassador for mathematics and is, at least should be, a constant fixture on math sites, looks especially good on the homepage (kinda gives the game away). Cogito, 9 outta 10 times peeps visiting this site wouldn't double check the equation (which is incorrect if Pythagoras theorem was intended) and would simply miss the error. I got lucky, that doesn't happen everyday.

[imath]a^2 \times b^2 = (ab)^2 = c^2[/imath] isn't quite the equation a mathematician would be impressed by.
 
Pythagoras was a numerologist and a shame for mathematics in my opinion. I would ignore "his" theorem completely and insist on calling it the cosine theorem. Pythagoras's theorem wasn't even "his" theorem since the Babylonians (or was it the Assyrians?) already knew it.
 
Agent Smith said:
Cogito, 9 outta 10 times peeps visiting this site wouldn't double check the equation (which is incorrect if Pythagoras theorem was intended) and would simply miss the error. I got lucky, that doesn't happen everyday.
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Since we're talking about errors ... your Latin is not quite right. First, the spelling for the infinitive "to be" is "errare", not "errara"; second, "cogito" means "think" in a different sense than you are using it for here. There are lots of different words for "think" in different senses.

fresh_42 said:
Pythagoras was a numerologist and a shame for mathematics in my opinion. I would ignore "his" theorem completely and insist on calling it the cosine theorem. Pythagoras's theorem wasn't even "his" theorem since the Babylonians (or was it the Assyrians?) already knew it.
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I generally describe him as a cult leader.

The comments here are useful for the history:


Euclid did not call it the Pythagorean theorem; but it is the capstone of his Book I. (He also extended it to, essentially, the Law of Cosines.)
 
Muchas gracias, and to reiterate the problem, errare humanum est.

It's just that, the equation [imath]a^2 \times b^2 = c^2[/imath] is reminiscent of Gene Roddenberry's mathematical take on the likelihood of ET:

[imath]Ff^2(MgE) - C^1R^1 \cdot M = L/So[/imath]. Visit Wikipedia page on The Drake Equation.

It's not false/semantically empty like Roddenberry's "equation", but [imath]a^2 \times b^2 = c^2[/imath] isn't a numerical relationship that's played even a minor role in human civilization. Pythagoras' theorem has, on the other hand, been mission critical to the construction of at least 1 wonder of the world - The Pyramids of Giza.
 
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20231224_170854.jpg

Notice the Right Triangle.

Anything [imath](a^2 \times b^2 =c^2)[/imath]ry about the circle and line graph? ?
 
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