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1500 questions
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When was the vector notation in physics and other sciences first introduced?
The vector notation in physics is a very compact and easy way to write things down, and according to Feynman it also saves print. When exactly did scientists realize that they were summarizing things with vector notation?
Recap: I know that Oliver…
Gonenc
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Discovery of Earth's magnetic field
Compasses are used for various reasons since the 2nd century BC, and for navigation in particular since the 11th century.
When did people realize that the reason it indicated North have something to do with an intrinsic property of Earth?
In short,…
plannapus
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Why is the Digamma function always denoted with the letter "psi"?
My question is on the notation of the Digamma function.
The Factorial function $n!$ (which is met in secondary school), is conceptually seminal to the Digamma function. The Factorial function is defined as:
$$0!=1,\qquad…
Elements In Space
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Was there any exact science or mathematics in the Eastern Roman Empire?
I mean in the Byzantine empire, from the transfer of the capital to Constantinople till its conquest by the Turks, spanning about 12 centuries. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, this one was never conquered by "barbarians" (except for a brief period…
Alexandre Eremenko
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15
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When was an eukaryotic cell described for the first time?
Van Leuwenhoek observed the first protist in 1674, but his description of it was somewhat superficial and fragmentary:
Passing lately over the Sea at a time, when it blew a fresh gale of wind, and observing the water as above described, I took up…
plannapus
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How did Grothendieck encounter and adopt the categorical language?
Apparently the first mathematical publication of Grothendieck where he uses the terms “functor” and “category” in the technical sense is the Kansas report.
From where Grothendieck had knowledge of categorial language?
tttbase
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Did Grothendieck really say that he felt "clumsy, even oafish, wandering painfully up an arduous track"?
Here I found the following quote, attributed to the great Grothendieck:
Since then I’ve had the chance in the world of mathematics that bid me welcome, to meet quite a number of people, both among my “elders” and among young people in my general…
user4612
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Historically accurate alternatives to "Men of Mathematics"?
I have heard that the book "Men of Mathematics" by E. Bell is a very entertaining text composed of several biographies of a number of influential mathematicians, and is in fact one of the most popular popular mathematics books to date. I have also…
Nethesis
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What was wrong with the caloric theory?
The caloric theory was replaced by the modern understanding of thermodynamics in the mid-1800's. In this theory, heat is a physical fluid that flows from one object to another; this flow causes objects to warm or cool.
Wikipedia notes that the…
Colin McFaul
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When did anonymous peer review appear and what were the motivations behind it?
The peer-review process is old. I wonder when anonymous peer review appeared and more importantly what the motivations behind it were (vs. non-anonymous peer review).
Franck Dernoncourt
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Did du Bois-Reymond invent the diagonal argument before Cantor?
The Wiki article on Cantor's diagonal argument mentions that the first use of a diagonal argument was in the work of Paul du Bois-Reymond in 1875. This would be one year after Cantor's first proof of the uncountability of the reals and 16 years…
user4894
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Why were so many artificial intelligence founders so optimistic?
1954: The Georgetown experiment in 1954 involved fully automatic translation of more than sixty Russian sentences into English. The authors claimed that within three or five years, machine translation would be a solved problem.
1956 - Herbert…
Franck Dernoncourt
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Is the "questions that can’t be answered over answers that can’t be questioned" quote by Feynman authentic?
In a lot of places I find this quote from Feynman:
I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.
However, I cannot find any source of where it appeared written by him or reported by someone who…
Nicola Gigante
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What kind of mathematical education did Leibniz have?
It doesn't seem that he began his life in mathematics. Does anyone know how it came to be ? What did he read ?
copper
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Why is "Cardano's Formula" (wrongly) attributed to him?
Apparently, Cardano had learned a formula for solving cubic equations from Tartaglia, who had sworn him to secrecy, and in any event, not to publish it without giving Tartaglia due credit.
Cardano published it under his own name, claiming to have…
Tom Au
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