Math Department (Thesis/2009-10)

Commensurability

Under the direction of: Julius Barbanel

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Most mathematical historians agree that abstract mathematics began with the ancient Greeks. Students interested in a senior thesis in ancient Greek mathematics will have a number of specific areas from which to choose.

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Two line segments are commensurable if and only if each is a (whole number) multiple of some common line segment. The Greeks showed that there are line segments that are not commensurable. Although it may not be obvious, this corresponds to the modern notion that there exist irrational numbers. This discovery was unexpected and had a major impact on the development of Greek mathematics.

Math Department web pages Created: 11 May 2009 Last modified: 11 May 2009 00:00:00 Comments to: math@union.edu

Thesis Topics -J. Barbanel Thesis Topics for 2009-2010 2009-2010 Thesis Letter