Mathematics has its roots in India, China, Arabia and Greece. From the abacus, abacus, a bead -on –a frame calculator invented 5000 years ago, we have moved to computers, with their microchip technology. Computers have the ability to process data at fantastic speeds using codes based on the binary system (which counts in 0s and 1s). The first people to use geometry were the Babylonian and Egyptian pyramid-builders (about 5000 years ago). The Greek mathematician, Pythagoras, devised his right-angled triangle theorem in the 500s BC. Pythagoras proved that in this kind of triangle the larger square has the same area as the sum of two smaller ones. In a building, lines, angles, space and shapes come together as a whole. A building, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, is made up of an assortment of geometrical figures, as well as examples of mathematical patterns (brick walls, tile floors). The greatest medieval mathematician, the Italian Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, helped introduce Arabic-Hindu numbers into Europe. He discovered a special sequence of numbers, beginning:
0+1= 1, 1+1 = 2, 1+2 = 3, 2+3 = 5, 3+5= 8, is which gives the sequence.
0112 358 13 21 34 55 89 144 ….and so on (each number is the sum of the previous two).
Computers
The fastest computers can do billion of calculations every second. Their main ability is to do a lot of basic tasks quickly and accurately.
The English machination Charles Baggage (1792 -1871) designed a large calculating machine which, in theory, could be programmed, like a computer. But the electronic age had not yet downed, and there was no way to give Babbage’s Analytical Engine the power it needed.
Virtual reality
Graphics programs are now so sophisticated that computers can interact with people to create `Virtual reality’. The computer generates sounds and images, creating a `landscape’, heard and seen inside a special helmet. The effect is to construct a seemingly real world that the person feels a part of. The possibilities for entertainment and education are endless.
