Word: theorem
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...earlier part of this decade), others create social value with nonprofit work, others create artistic value through films, plays, and articles. All of these are means of learning to create something well, whether it is a piece of historical writing or a ceramic bowl or a mathematical theorem...
...sixth century B.C., Livio uses Pythagoras, Plato, and Archimedes to demonstrate that there is an intimate relationship between the most basic arithmetic and much more complicated and inaccessible abstract logic. Revelations abound, from the logical basis for counting, to the foundation of prime numbers, and the Pythagorean Theorem. But there are an equal number of instances where Livio’s explanations fall short, such as when he discusses knots or how gravity operates in the solar system. In these cases, Livio loses himself in the history of the discoveries and overwhelms the reader with superfluous information and terminology...
...finding a rich tradition of discussion on the subject extending back to ancient times. Indeed, the narrative of voting philosophy flows through the French Revolution, finds an unlikely mouthpiece in author Lewis Carroll, and continues to 20th-century economist Kenneth Arrow’s famed “impossibility theorem.” The theorem, which roughly proves that no ranked voting system can be fair, had an enormous impact on democratic thought.But by amplifying the discussion, the theorem also led to consideration of various other voting methods. Poundstone evaluates these alternatives, highlighting the merits and faults of each...
...extreme form of vegetarianism, and though the term was coined in 1944, the concept of flesh-avoidance can be traced back to ancient Indian and eastern Mediterranean societies. Vegetarianism is first mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos around 500 BCE. In addition to his theorem about right triangles, Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species, including humans. Followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism also advocated vegetarianism, believing that humans should not inflict pain on other animals...
...Among their feats: slowing the speed of light (optical physicist Lene Hau, 2001), mapping the human genome (geneticist Eric Lander, 1987), penning acclaimed novels (Cormac McCarthy, 1981; the recently deceased David Foster Wallace, 1997), scheming to save our threatened fisheries (lobsterman Ted Ames, 2005) and solving Fermat's Last Theorem (mathematician Andrew Wiles, 1997). Seven have nabbed the Nobel Prize, including geneticist Barbara McClintock (1981) and former U.S. poet laureate Joseph Brodsky (1981). Others have won Pulitzers, Fields Medals -the math world's top honor - and National Book Awards. The chosen few are informed by an "out-of-the-blue...