Archimedes Of Syracuse Summary

Throughout the prologue, the author describes his experience with math. He starts out by telling the reader just how much he hated math and how most human beings hate it as well. “Most people would rather be strung up by their thumbs and systematically tortured with sharp, pointy objects than be forced to ever again to find the antiderivative of a polynomial.” He then goes into how math came to be where it is. He also give the names of the people who created the different math techniques so we can blame them. “Archimedes of Syracuse was the quintessential math nerd.” He used math to beat the Romans who were attacking in 212 B.C. He was so engrossed in math that when the Roman invaded, he didn’t even notice. He was too busy drawing math in the sand. Stories of Archimedes went around the world until a young French girl named Sophie Germain. Before his untimely death, he came precariously close to inventing calculus. She, too, became fascinated with math. “She masqueraded as a male student at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris (girls were not admitted), and by the time she died of breast cancer in 1831, she was a highly accomplished mathematician.” The author then goes into detail just exactically what calculus is. “Essentially it’s a way of measuring change, whether it be change in position, temperature, or what have you.” “Calculus boils
He hated math. I dislike it when I don’t understand it. He told me who I should blame instead of blaming the teacher or the government for making me learn what I thought was useless material. “I’m never going to use this. Why do I have to learn it?” I would ask myself. I still do. But, blaming someone for creating calculus is pointless. Most of the people who created today’s math is dead. Many of the math “wizards” created this math between 212 B.C. and the 1800’s. I just need to get over myself and embrace math. I use it every day. I should know how to effectively use it to my