The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
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The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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fl. c. 500 B.C.
Greek Pythagorean philosopher credited with the discovery of irrational numbers—that is, infinite decimals with no indefinitely repeating digits. Hippasus apparently discovered that the length of an isosceles triangle's shorter side must be expressed as an irrational number if the length of the two equal legs is a whole one. According to one legend, he made this discovery while on board ship with a group of other Pythagoreans, and the idea of an irrational proved so antithetical to Pythagorean views of wholeness and harmony that they threw him overboard. A conflicting tale maintains that other Pythagoreans discovered the secret of irrationals. By revealing this information to outsiders for pay, according to this version, Hippasus violated two rules of the Pythagorean society: the vow of secrecy and the prohibition against profiting from mathematical wisdom.