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How Did Hypatia Change The World

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How Did Hypatia Change The World
The life and brutal death of Hypatia of Alexandria has been a topic of debatable discussion since the 4th century C.E. She lived Alexandria, Egypt (the center of ancient knowledge) and while it is assumed that she learned the study of mathematics from her father, “Theon of Alexandria” it is known that she was the head geometry teacher of the Neo-Platonist school (Belenky, 2010). Hypatia is regarded as one of the first women that contributed in many ways to the field of mathematical findings that have forever changed the way we think and see the world today. One major way she contributed to the development of mathematics is by building on to the work of an earlier mathematician, an Egyptian named Diophantus. Diophantus worked with quadratic equations and equations having multiple solutions; these equations are known as indeterminate equations. For example, the problem of changing a one-hundred-dollar bill into twenties, tens, fives and ones leads to an indeterminate equation because there are multiple solutions available.
Hypatia posed the following problem in her paper on Diophantus: Find a number that satisfies these two conditions: (1) it is the sum of two squares, and (2) its square is also the sum of two squares. Many solutions exist. Hypatia studied a whole class of numbers that could be solutions. These numbers are of the form 4n + 1, where n = 1, 2, 3, and so on, and …show more content…
We don't notice the importance of this conic, but it really has an impact on the world. Ellipses are really important because planets take an elliptical path. This occurs in our universe. For example, an ellipse is formed when you tilt a glass of water. When the cup is tilted, the water all goes to one side, making the water uneven, forming an ellipse. Conics are really important because they literally help us shape our society. This integrates well with my current major in art and design because of the engineering and use of conic
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