How an Australian scientist proved the Pythagorean Theorem predated Pythagoras

A Sydney-based scientist’s “detective” work has revealed the origins of applied geometry with ancient Babylonians having developed their own kind of trigonometry before Greeks.

The tablet – known as Si.427 – was discovered in the late 19th century in what is now central Iraq, but its significance was unknown until today Source: UNSW

Dr Daniel Mansfield from UNSW Science’s School of Mathematics and Statistics showed the answer was hiding in plain sight in a museum in Istanbul for over a century in a 3700-year-old clay tablet.

The tablet proves Pythagorean triples were used 1,000 years before ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras was born.

Listen to the podcast in Greek to find out more.

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Αυστραλός απέδειξε ότι το "Πυθαγόρειο θεώρημα" δεν ήταν του Πυθαγόρα

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Non – Greek speakers can learn more through the UNSW media release here.