Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics - Cardano and the Solution of the Cubic Summary & Analysis

William Dunham (mathematician)
This Study Guide consists of approximately 26 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Journey Through Genius.

Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics - Cardano and the Solution of the Cubic Summary & Analysis

William Dunham (mathematician)
This Study Guide consists of approximately 26 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Journey Through Genius.
This section contains 457 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics Study Guide

Cardano and the Solution of the Cubic Summary and Analysis

Dunham moves ahead to the 15th century. It is a time of discovery and the advancement of knowledge in Europe. In mathematics, Dunham describes the Italian Luca Pacioli, who writes a treatise that includes a supposition that cubic equations may be impossible to solve. Cubic equations are those in the form ax³ + bx² + cx + d = 0.

Pacioli's assessment is taken up as a challenge, Dunham explains. A mathematician named Scipione del Ferro hits upon a method to solve cubic equations by simplifying them into another kind of equation that can be solved. However, Del Ferro does not publish his discovery. Instead he keeps it secret until just prior to his death when he passes it on to a student named Antonio Fior. Fior takes del Ferro's method and challenges another...

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This section contains 457 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics Study Guide
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