JEAN AYMES
20 articles published in Tangente
History and CultureN°212Jun 23, 2023Generating the famous Pythagorean triples
Characterizing all right triangles in the plane with integer side lengths amounts to finding all Pythagorean triples. The geometric problem thus appears to become purely arithmetic! How did mathematicians go about completing this quest?
Read →
History and CultureN°205Apr 15, 2022The tree that hides the forest
Trees are often used to represent mathematical reasoning. Here are a few examples.
Read →
History and CultureN°79Aug 26, 2021An extraordinary student
The teachers who crossed paths with Henri Poincaré remembered a brilliant, unconventional student.
Read →
Math for everyoneN°79Aug 26, 2021The qualitative approach: a fruitful detour
Every high-school student learns how to express the real roots of a quadratic equation explicitly in terms of square roots. This becomes much more difficult for higher-degree equations and impossible from degree five onward.
Read →
Math for everyoneN°79Aug 24, 2021The adoption of non-Euclidean geometries
Euclid's fifth postulate differs from the others: it seems provable. Yet its negation leads to other geometries, known as non-Euclidean geometries. They have their place within mathematics and have applications both in arithmetic, as Poincaré showed, and in general relativity.
Read →
History and CultureN°79Aug 24, 2021The scientific landscape of the Belle Époque
Poincaré's era was exceptionally fruitful for science: the twenty years around 1900 saw extraordinary conceptual advances and feats of intellectual ingenuity, fostered by increasingly international exchanges through publications and meetings.
Read →
History and CultureN°79Aug 23, 2021The last great polymath
Henri Poincaré embodies an ideal of scientific unity: he mastered every field of science in his day. His name remains associated with a staggering number of mathematical ideas, concepts and objects. More than a century after his death, he continues to inspire mathematicians, physicists and philosophers.
Read →
History and CultureN°79Aug 23, 2021A great traveler
Henri Poincaré traveled extensively for academic visits, meetings, and lectures.
Read →