Welcome! This is a website that everyone can build together. It's easy!

I Am Pythagoras of SamosThis is a featured page

Pythgoras of SamosI AM A PHILOSOPHER. I am the world’s first mathematician. Today people know me, if they know me at all, for a theorem I discovered about right triangles. It’s named after me, the Pythagorean Theorem.

And they think it’s all I ever did! But I’m also a musician and a scientist. I was the first to study the physics of musical sounds and how they are made and their effects on the human mind and body.

But the most important thing I did was to discover the secret of the cosmos. Cosmos is a Greek word that stands for everything there is, was, or will be from the beginning to the end of time, the whole universe and everything in it from the farthest galaxy to the tiniest subatomic particle: earth, sky, plants, animals, insects, bacteria, and human beings. We’re all part of the cosmos.

The secret of the cosmos is the most powerful knowledge humankind has ever known.

If you know the secret of the cosmos, you can use it to create wealth and become rich.

If you know the secret of the cosmos, you can use it to do great deeds and make the world better for everyone.

If you know the secret of the cosmos, you can use it to discover new knowledge, because knowledge always leads to more knowledge.

You will not find the secret of the cosmos anywhere on this website. I do not share the secret with anyone
until I have met them in person and they have sworn an oath to the gods that they will never misuse the awesome power of the secret of the cosmos.

If you and your group are willing to make that promise and we can agree on a date, I will be happy to visit your school or community group.

No More Fear of Math


Whenever I speak to an audience, I challenge, encourage, and inspire them to become more eager, confident, and effective math learners.

 Many young people, even some who did well in elementary-school arithmetic, lose interest when they get to middle school. They doubt their ability to go on to algebra.

That's when we begin to hear remarks like,"Who wants to study math?" "What's in it for me?" "Math is too hard." "When am I ever going to use this?" "I'm just not a math person." Sometimes these attitudes become fixed and last for life. Sometimes parents pass these attitudes on to their children.

My purpose is to change people's attitudes about math and about themselves as math learners. I do this by taking them in their imagination to a time long ago and far away when I discovered, in my study of astronomy, music, and geometry, that numbers are much more than a tool for farming, trade, and construction. Numbers are a window into the nature of reality. Numbers are the language of the gods.

My discovery was the beginning of mathematics as an intellectual discipline, essential to the study and practice of almost everything.

But to persuade people of the importance of math and stop there would be unfair, especially to those who are struggling to learn it.

In the second part of my presentation and in printed material I hand out, I explain
  • Why some people love math and others hate it
  • Why some pre-algebra students have confidence in their ability to learn new math but many do not
  • Eight things you can do to regain the math confidence you have lost
Newest Number Pages
9
143
0
58
100
27
54

PART OF THIS WEBSITE IS MY NUMBER WIKI. It's an online extension of my work with math students at their schools. It invites them and you to look at numbers in a way that may be new to you but is really very old. Explained here.

And because this website is a wiki, you're invited to do more than just read it. Please participate in writing and editing it, on your own or as a math class project. Here's how.

THIS SITE ALSO INCLUDES information about my life in Ancient Greece, answers to questions people often ask me but that I don't have time to answer fully when I appear in person.
For example, how is it possible for someone who has been dead for about 2500 years to show up at your school or library? If you're curious, you can read about it here.




















PythagorasofSamos
PythagorasofSamos 		Latest page update: made by PythagorasofSamos , Jan 13 2010, 10:28 AM EST (about this update About This Update PythagorasofSamos Edited by PythagorasofSamos

1 word added
1 word deleted

view changes
- complete history)
Keyword tags: What's a number wiki?
More Info: links to this page

Threads for this page

There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.