An alternative to the Pythagorean rule? Reevaluating Problem 1 of cuneiform tablet BM 34 568

dc.creatorGONCALVES, Carlos H. B.
dc.date.accessioned2012-10-18T21:21:02Z
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-04T14:45:19Z
dc.date.available2012-10-18T21:21:02Z
dc.date.available2018-07-04T14:45:19Z
dc.date.created2012-10-18T21:21:02Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.identifierHISTORIA MATHEMATICA, v.35, n.3, p.173-189, 2008
dc.identifier0315-0860
dc.identifierhttp://producao.usp.br/handle/BDPI/17186
dc.identifier10.1016/j.hm.2007.11.001
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hm.2007.11.001
dc.identifier.urihttp://repositorioslatinoamericanos.uchile.cl/handle/2250/1613992
dc.description.abstractThe first problem of the Seleucid mathematical cuneiform tablet BM 34 568 calculates the diagonal of a rectangle from its sides without resorting to the Pythagorean rule. For this reason, it has been a source of discussion among specialists ever since its first publication. but so far no consensus in relation to its mathematical meaning has been attained. This paper presents two new interpretations of the scribe`s procedure. based on the assumption that he was able to reduce the problem to a standard Mesopotamian question about reciprocal numbers. These new interpretations are then linked to interpretations of the Old Babylonian tablet Plimpton 322 and to the presence of Pythagorean triples in the contexts of Old Babylonian and Hellenistic mathematics. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
dc.relationHistoria Mathematica
dc.rightsCopyright ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
dc.rightsclosedAccess
dc.subjectBabylonia
dc.subjectMesopotamia
dc.subjectSeleucid periods
dc.subjectPythagorean triples
dc.subjectBM 34 568
dc.subjectPlimpton 322
dc.subjectHistoriography of mathematics
dc.titleAn alternative to the Pythagorean rule? Reevaluating Problem 1 of cuneiform tablet BM 34 568
dc.typeArtículos de revistas


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