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/sci/ - Science & Math

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9331474 No.9331474 [Reply] [Original]

Who do you guys think the best mathematician who ever lived was and give reasons. I'll start with Euler.
>created so many fucking formulas for basically every branch of math. Some of the many examples in fields:

>Diffeq: made many useful formulas for calculating and transforming and the euler method
>Complex analysis: relating exponential to trigonometry in the imaginary plane
>Number theory: Made tons of prime products and reciprocal sum formulas
>Graph theory: Euler characteristic
>basically invented the natural logarithm
there are so many fucking things he did in his lifetime. I will be very impressed if anyone can find a more important mathematician than Euler

>> No.9331489

>>9331474
Norman Wildberger:
Is actually doing everything you claimed Euler did in his series for algebraic calculus (ongoing as we speak), except that Wildberger is using actually rigorous mathematics (rational numbers only) while Euler had to use """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""real"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""numbers""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

>> No.9331503

>>9331474
>>/numberphile/

>> No.9331507

>>9331489
All of wildberger's issues he addresses were already addressed by other mathematicians. Euler didn't just use """"real""" numbers as you said: he also used complex and the rational numbers you speak of in many of his formulas.

>> No.9331512

>>9331503
>claiming the sum of all integers is -1/12 without mentioning analytic continuation
that formula which brought much of the hatred towards numberphile was more of Rammanujan's fault.

>> No.9331513

>>9331507
Are you stupid? Obviously, Euler did some good work in number theory but looking at your list you mention his work in Differential Equations but here is a question for you:

How could Euler solve differential equations, if the notion of derivative he used was unrigorous? And for that matter, the modern definition of derivative is also unrigorous. Therefore, no one has solved a differential equation. They have just solved "unrigorous whatever goes who the fuck cares about rigor equations"

>> No.9331521

>>9331513
The same could be said for recurrence relations and basically everything. Not all math needs to be rigorous. We know the answer to problems and we have applicable use for it in the real world. Adding extra detail on why things are true just takes longer. I'm not saying there arent more solutions for all differential equations, but the ones we found have gotten us to the mathematical understandings of many other fields we have today

>> No.9331671
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9331671

>>9331474
Euler was unquestionably the greatest ever but my favorite is still Cantor.

>> No.9331677
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9331677

Edward "[math]\mathfrak{Phenotype}[/math]" Witten.

>> No.9331685

>>9331513
>modern definition of derivative is also unrigorous
fuck of wildburger

>> No.9331687

>>9331489
I feel like he would be more successul as the proprietor of a burger chain that serves exotic game burgers

>> No.9331688

>>9331671
Cantor was unquestionably a genius. His notions of infinity will baffle mathematicians until the end of time (even though we use his notions).

>> No.9331710

>>9331688

you ever read that DFW book on cantor? It's good.

>> No.9331758

Gauss

>> No.9331765
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9331765

>>9331474
Archimedes

>defined pi for the first time
>invented the odometer
>invented integral calculus well over a thousand years before Newton
>accurately predicted the number of particles in the entire universe
>created and defined area of spirals
>found relationship among mass, area, volume
>numerous inventions I need not mention here for you all know them

Or Max Planck for simply hypothesizing quantum theory.

>> No.9331816

>>9331474
Why no Gauss here?

>> No.9331972

obvs gauß

>> No.9332059

Lagrange was an animal too , but yeah, Euler ze best

>> No.9332092

>>9331688
That he was, his capacity for thinking outside the established bounds of the time was astonishing. So astonishing that people would attack him because his ideas were simply ahead of his time. I feel that he’s a very relatable figure too, for me at least; he struggled with depression and his intelligence was oftentimes a burden.

>> No.9332093

>>9331474
Terrence Howard.
>comes up with an UBELIEVABLE hypothesis
>formulates his own AXIOMS to PROVE it
>
>HAh why E5 oh
>.