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1500 questions
7
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$2^{11} - 1$ and the mystery of Huldaricus Regius
While researching on Mersenne numbers, I often stumble upon statements of this nature (it is not verbatim):
Huldaricus Regius in 1536 proved that $2^{11}-1$ is not prime, providing a factorisation and shattering the common misconception that all…
Plasma Stark
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7
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Why is the number of elements in a group called "order"?
This is a question that I have for a long time, Maybe it is something silly, but I really want to know. Why is the number of elements in a group called "order"? I mean, the word "order" in Spanish (which is my language) has a very strong meaning in…
Hopmaths
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7
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Reverse subtraction: has any culture had a symbol (call it $\oplus$) where $A \oplus B$ (read in the same direction as in the language) $:= B - A$?
The standard use of the minus sign is such that $A-B$ means you subtract B from A. Thus $$5-2 = 3.$$ Has any culture used a symbol (let's call it $\oplus$) where $A \oplus B$ means you subtract A from B? Thus you would get $$2\oplus5=3.$$
Note that…
user13571
7
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What was the first automated theorem prover?
From a lot of googling, it seems like the answer might be "Mizar", but I am not completely sure.
What was (or is?) the first automated theorem prover (i.e. not necessarily active right now)?
Alex
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7
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History of Fatou's Lemma
This question concerns Fatou's Lemma:
Let $(f_n)$ be a sequence of nonnegative measurable functions on a measure space $X$. Define $f: X\to [0,+\infty]$ by $f(x) :=\liminf_{n\to\infty} f_n(x)$, for every $x\in X$. Then $f$ is measurable and $\int_X…
Delio Mugnolo
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7
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Origin of Tensor Product
When and why did Mathematicians saw a need to define Tensor Products?
I want to know the historical development of the idea "Tensor Product"?
Saikat
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7
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Did physicists correct an error of mathematicians in counting twisted cubics in the quintic?
One problem in enumerative geometry consists in counting the number of rational curves of degree $d$ in the plane going through $n$ general points. If $n = 3d-1$, this number, denoted $N_d$, is finite and the problem is to find a formula for…
Ansonī Bōdo
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7
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Why did Galileo express himself in terms of ratios when describing laws of accelerated motion?
I opened the same question on Physics Stack Exchange, but it seems more suited for this site.
I've been reading about Galileo's experiment with inclined planes, and he ends up saying something along the lines of "the ratio of distances is equal to…
Jon
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What is Holon Programming?
Donald Knuth credits Pierre-Arnoul de Marneffe's idea of "Holon Programming" as the main influence on Literate Programming. See page 13 of "Literate Programming", Knuth's paper introducing the concept. Knuth calls de Marneffe's work "pioneering" and…
texdr.aft
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Where to pursue a PhD in history of mathematics in Europe?
This is more a soft question, and I am not sure where I should place it so I ask for excuses if this is not the right place, but I could not find any other that seemed more suitable.
I would like to know which Universities in Europe are as of 2020…
Luis Ferroni
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7
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Who coined the Hawaiian Earrings?
I hope to know who first used the name "Hawaiian Earrings."
Barratt, Milnor(1962) says "This example was suggested by Steenrod" in its…
user12897
7
votes
2 answers
What does "given in species" mean in old geometry textbooks?
I recently came across the term "triangle given in species" in Hatton's Projective Geometry. Searching in archive.org turned up other examples (such as this) of 19th century texts, and it is also used in Euclid. But I don't see it defined…
brainjam
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7
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Who was "Urbino d'Aviso" that described how to fold paper into a pentagon?
I have found this in David Wells' "Curious and Interesting Puzzles" (1992), Penguin books, page 36:
"The next problem occurs first in Urbino d'Aviso's treatise on the sphere (1682):
A strip of paper can be transformed into a pentagon. How?"
Yes, I…
Prime Mover
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Who is the lady on the image?
I stumbled upon the following napkin (yes, a napkin) and was wondering who the lady on the picture is:
She is surrounded by some basic mathematical functions, as well as physical equations which relate to some drawings (mostly mechanics, and…
WoJ
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7
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Were the kilogram, the grave, etc. meant to be units of weight, units of mass, or was it ambiguous at the time?
It is sometimes stated that the early metric units of 'weight' really were meant to be exactly that: units of weight (i.e. force), not mass. However, is that really so? In fact, did the people responsible for the creation of these units in the…
linguisticturn
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