Logarithm in math.

[renaissance12]

The people believe that logarithm were "invented" by the Scottish NAPIER..

But the truth is different.. much different..

Italian Luca Pacioli knew very well, 100 years before NAPIER, the logarithm...

All (but really all) known European (one could say Italian) mathematics... from equations to geometry, from algebra to trigonometry, from the first examples of probabilistic calculus to financial mathematics , accounting and even logarithms had been summarized for the first time in 1494 by Luca Pacioli (a Catholic "priest" .. also accused of being the first scientific plagiarist ) in a book published in VENICE - Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita e della Divina Proportione - which was widely disseminated among the merchants of the time.. first in Venice (almost all Venetian Jews were traders and bankers .. the Jews in Venice and in its in land territory were "only" 2% of the population but Jewish traders were well over 10% of all traders in VENICE ) and its territories and later throughout Italy and Europe. That book was just enough for any person interested in mathematics to know everything there was to know about mathematics.

https://astebolaffi.it/en/articles/u...i-luca-pacioli

[renaissance12]

The solution of the cubic equation and the discovery of complex/immaginary numbers ( thanks Italian mathematicians ) were the first thing known to European mathematicians that was unknown to the ancient Greeks Chinese Indians Babylonians Egyptians Persians and Arabs (2000-4000 years ago..)

Were the Vikings able to do some math ( example 2+2 = ? or 5-2 = ? ) in their scandinavian poor and primitive villages in XI-XII-XIII-XIV-XV centuries ?

[Scar95]

I believe that was if Europe was only northern abd western Europe they’d have been on par with Africa.

[renaissance12]

One could also think.. but look at these non-Indo-European peoples from Asia and Africa.. good at math 4000 years ago.. but since then they haven't been able to do anything anymore.. After 4000 years of waiting, here come the Italians of the Renaissance to advance the mathematics that was stopped for 2000 years..

[renaissance12]

I believe that was if Europe was only northern abd western Europe they’d have been on par with Africa.

Statistically Jews have always been ( since 1400 ) about 2% of the European population. These are facts....And 2% of Venetians ( 160.000-190.000 people were living in Venice in XV-XVI-XVII- ) was more and less 4.000 thousands people. ( and there were jews in any city of venetian territory ... not only in Venice ). Almost all Venetian Jews were traders and bankers .. the Jews in Venice and in its in land territory were "only" 2% of the population but Jewish traders were well over 10% of all traders in VENICE.

In the 15th -16th- 17th- 18th century no Jew was a great mathematician, but in the 20th century 30-40 % of the great mathematicians were/are Jews.

If the Jews of the Renaissance were too few, they were too few even in the 20th century

And asking what is the reason for this divergence is legitimate..


During the Renaissance, 2% of the European population - the Jews - made almost no contribution or major contribution to science.. while in the 20th century it seems that the Jews - who were 2% of the population - achieved a monopoly of knowledge.. Don't forget that the Jews were the most literate "group" of all since the Renaissance


From my point of view, most of the mathematic of the twentieth century is marginal ( without detracting from its impressive sophistication and complexity.. maybe Newman's mathematic is not very marginal and Godel's theorems - he was not jew_ are beyond mathematics ) with few practical applications..
If we make the comparison ( give me permission for this comparison ) with geographical discoveries.... a today fields medal is comparable to the discovery of the great salt lake in North America .. but he is not comparable to Christopher Columbus discovery of America ( or Magellan discovery if the discovery of Columbus is disputed ).

In XV-XVI-XVII-XVIII however there were no major mathematicians even though Jews were 2% of the population as they were in the last century..
I hope no one thinks I'm doing any anti-Jewish propaganda

Sixteenth-century mathematics books were especially popular among Jews.

There were Jewish mathematicians during the Renaissance but none of them was ever relevant in the field of mathematics and therefore worthy of being remembered.

Mathematical "duels" did not take place in Italy in the universities but in the courts of the rich Renaissance lords, where many Jewish astrologers - who had books on mathematics- were hosted.

It is clear that the beginning of European interest in mathematics began in Italy in the 15th 16th century and it is clear that the Jews could have been the ones who most of all could have made a contribution to the new algebra and new mathematics ( infinitesimal - indivisible ) and new geometry.. but instead jews made no significant contribution despite having the new mathematics books..

The facts, however, show that Jews became the best at maths only after others "made great" the maths. The bulk of the mathematical work had already been done in previous years by non-Jewish mathematicians (until 70-80 years ago an engineer or mathematician marginally studied the mathematics developed by the Jews in the last 150 years but he could not fail to know who Fourier Laplace Taylor Euler Lagrange Gauss was...even if for Einstein's equations one had to study tensorial calculus of Ricci - Levi Civita... Italian Jews ... Some tensors were well known by Gauss Euler ). The "discovery/invention" of imaginary numbers and the formula of cubic equation by the Italian algebraists of the Renaissance is conceptually a giant step, an achievement hitherto considered impossible and which had stumped the best mathematicians of China, India Persia Greece Babylon Egypt and all Islamic world for 2.000 years..
Back then mathematicians weren't even convinced of the existence of negative numbers even though they were sometimes used..Try to understand what was the intellectual effort to conceive the existence of imaginary numbers .. a concept that many of us still struggle to understand today..

Considering that the Jews in the XV-XVI-XVII were the ones who most of all had the new algebra and mathematics books, it is natural that in those centuries there were many Jewish mathematical scholars. But what cannot be explained is why none of those many Jewish mathematicians of the XV-XVI-XVII gave a minimum of significant contribution to mathematics. If there hadn't been Jewish mathematicians during the Renaissance... the history of European mathematics would not have changed at all.

Somebody says: “All of Western philosophy is but a footnote to Plato.” and i say : All of jewsh mathematic contribution is but footnote to mathematic bulk developed by non jews mathematicians...( And I'm sure that many share my thought .. because it is based on facts and logical considerations )

[renaissance12]

Mathematical "duels" ( ..cubic equation.. area under a curve ...ballistic calculations ect ect) took place in Italy in the courts of the rich Renaissance lords, where many Jewish astrologers - who had books on mathematics- were hosted.

The non-Jewish mathematicians were almost all Christian priests (but in the 17th century the "secular" university environment began to prevail) and the Jewish mathematicians were rabbis or merchants.. and their ( Christians and Jews ) cultural environment was religious (convents, rabbinical schools) or that of Renaissance lordships ( common to Christians and Jews in Italy ) .

Christians in their convents and Jews in rabbinical schools.( so there was no differences between the 2 "groups" the members of both groups could exchange each other their thoughts it they wished it.. but don't forget what "math duel" is..( keep it secret is the way )

Christian and Jewish scholars of mathematics were hosted in the Renaissance courts where mathematical duels and astrology were widespread (Jews excelled in astrology in almost all the Renaissance courts of central-northern Italy).

I remember that in the XV-XVI century the awakening of interest in mathematics (merchants were interested in algebra) was especially an Italian phenomenon, and there was no spirit of sharing and the exchange of ideas between mathematicians who were instead very jealous of their knowledge.

On the other hand, if you wanted to win a mathematical duel you had to keep your intuitions and discoveries very secret.

If the Renaissance meant something to "Christians" it also meant something to Jews..

It would not be correct to think that in the Renaissance the Jews failed to excel because their alleged isolation wanted by Christians ( within their religious context the Jews were certainly not isolated from each other ) while in the last century they managed to excel because of their own merits.

[renaissance12]

I believe that was if Europe was only northern abd western Europe they’d have been on par with Africa.

In the private library of Isaac Newton and Leibniz there were many books of ancient greek-roman thinkers.. and many books of Italian thinkers scientist mathematicians ( Galileo .. Torricelli.. Cavalieri... Cardano.. Pacioli.. Machiavelli.. ect ect ) of renaissance but NO BOOKS from SCANDINAVIA ( perhaps till XVI 100% of scandinavians were illeterate.. )

[Östsvensk]

The solution of the cubic equation and the discovery of complex/immaginary numbers ( thanks Italian mathematicians ) were the first thing known to European mathematicians that was unknown to the ancient Greeks Chinese Indians Babylonians Egyptians Persians and Arabs (2000-4000 years ago..)

Were the Vikings able to do some math ( example 2+2 = ? or 5-2 = ? ) in their scandinavian poor and primitive villages in XI-XII-XIII-XIV-XV centuries ?

No, as evidenced here where a man is trying to teach a dumb blond math.

[Hexachordia]

The "discovery/invention" of imaginary numbers and the formula of cubic equation by the Italian algebraists of the Renaissance is conceptually a giant step, an achievement hitherto considered impossible and which had stumped the best mathematicians of China, India Persia Greece Babylon Egypt and all Islamic world for 2.000 years..

The jesuit order produced many brilliant encyclopedic scholars, Italy was the center of this order. This order should not be overtly vilified, they surely had gotten some amazing achievements. BTW, Ethiopia which defeated Italy in early1900s was not really an empty land but civilized by multiply waves of christian missionary since 16th century.

Despite its difficult gestation, the Jesuit mathematical schools, thanks to Christoph Clavius, gained great prestige in a short time. The Society of Jesus, therefore, provided a fertile ground for mathematical and astronomical studies. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, many generations of scholars had been trained in schools of the Society of Jesus. Jesuit mathematicians were interested in scientific innovation and they contributed original research to all scientific disciplines of the time, in addition to playing a key role in spreading scientific knowledge. Many Jesuits have an important place in the history of mathematics. Their handbooks and scientific texts were used and highly regarded by the greatest European mathematicians. In this chapter, we give an account of the events that characterized the birth and the developments of the Jesuit mathematical education, by focusing mainly on European assistances in addition to a brief account of Jesuit mathematical missions in Asia.

Nordic people were wanted for their warrior culture, like Japan, as you might uphold the intellectual glories of Italy, I also uphold warrior cultures. Many recent math greand discoveries were also made by nordics like Bernhard Riemann, Niels Abel, Sophus Lie, Rolf Nevanlinna, also that famous playboy and math genius gaul Galois. Historically Italy is significant, but as to the recent breakthroughts, nordic people have one of the most important contributions.

[renaissance12]

No, as evidenced here where a man is trying to teach a dumb blond math.

Don't worry ..

Vikings were not alone .. . the Slavs did not have much more knowledge and culture than the Nordic Scandinavians..during the same period.

Both ( slavics and vikings) have been very lucky to have the Italians nearby, on the same continent.

However, it is the French who should thank more than all of us ( Italians ) ..

We even taught them not to eat with their hands during the Renaissance..