Who invented mathematics, and when and how was it invented?
Mathematics, one of the oldest sciences and described as the “Queen of Sciences” by Carl Friedrich Gauss, is expressed as a branch of science that examines concepts such as number, set, and fraction. In addition to this feature, who found mathematics, which is accepted as a language of science? When was mathematics found? Where was mathematics, which was first used as a word by the students of the Pythagorean School for the first time and derived from the root “Matesis,” which means I unit, found for the first time? Details are in the rest of our content…
It is thought that the word mathematics was first used in the Pythagorean School around 550 BC. It first entered the written source with Plato.
Although there is no definite information about where and how mathematics emerged, we benefit from some historical documents on this subject. When these documents are examined, it is concluded that mathematics emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt between 3000 BC and 2000 BC.
There are two different opinions about the reasons for the emergence of mathematics. Both of these argue that mathematics emerged in Egypt, but evaluate the reasons in different ways.
According to the first view, mathematics emerged from the need to calculate the overflow time of the Nile River in Egypt. The fact that the borders of the land disappeared as a result of the flooding of the Nile led to the need to redefine these borders after the waters receded, and this situation paved the way for the emergence of mathematics and geometry.
The second view attributes the emergence of mathematics entirely to intellectual curiosity. According to this view, the only intellectual class in Egypt, the clergy, invented mathematics to keep themselves busy.
When the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where we find the first examples of mathematics, are examined, it is seen that Mesopotamia was more advanced in mathematics than Egypt. When civilizations such as Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon were examined, it is noteworthy that they used a number system in base ten, found the inner angles of the circle to be 360 degrees, and worked on quadratic equations. In this mathematics, which does not contain any theorems and proofs, a purely experimental and need-oriented understanding is dominant.
Unlike Mesopotamia, the mathematical understanding of Greek civilization stands out as an art rather than a craft. In addition to being useful in daily life, the proofs are extremely valuable. In addition to important mathematicians such as Thales, Euclid, and Pythagoras, the names of about 100 different mathematicians have survived to the present day.
Mathematicians who grew up in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries also made important contributions to the history of geometry and mathematics. Al-Khwarizmi considered the “Father of Algebra,” wrote the first algebra book in the world, and this work was taught in European schools until the Renaissance period. The decimal number system, the concept of digits, and the number zero were also brought to Europe by al-Khwarizmi.
The period between 1700 and 1900 is called the Classical Mathematics Period and is considered the golden age of mathematics. In this period, calculus was discovered, and many theorems were introduced to mathematics. At the same time, this period draws attention as a period when mathematics covered all branches of science. Most of the mathematics taught in schools today is a product of this classical period.
The mathematics that started to be applied from the 1900s onwards is called modern mathematics. This period is concerned with the effort to base mathematics on certain laws. Modern mathematics, which is considered more relative, conceptual, and abstract compared to the classical period, has reached a high scientific level with this feature.