Mathematics
| Part of a series of articles on the |
| mathematical constant π |
|---|
| Uses |
|
| Properties |
|
| Value |
|
| People |
|
| History |
|
| In culture |
|
| Related topics |
|
The majority of Zu's great mathematical works are recorded in his lost text the Zhui Shu. Most scholars argue about his complexity since traditionally the Chinese had developed mathematics as algebraic and equational. Logically, scholars assume that the Zhui Shu yields methods of cubic equations. His works on the accurate value of pi describe the lengthy calculations involved. Zu used the method of exhaustion discovered and described 700 years earlier by Archimedes to inscribe a 12,288-gon. Zu's value of pi is precise to six decimal places and for a thousand years thereafter no subsequent mathematician computed a value this precise. Zu also worked on deducing the formula for the volume of a sphere.
Read more about this topic: Zu Chongzhi
Famous quotes containing the word mathematics:
“It is a monstrous thing to force a child to learn Latin or Greek or mathematics on the ground that they are an indispensable gymnastic for the mental powers. It would be monstrous even if it were true.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Mathematics alone make us feel the limits of our intelligence. For we can always suppose in the case of an experiment that it is inexplicable because we don’t happen to have all the data. In mathematics we have all the data ... and yet we don’t understand. We always come back to the contemplation of our human wretchedness. What force is in relation to our will, the impenetrable opacity of mathematics is in relation to our intelligence.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)