Eratosthenus was the first person to calculate the earth’s circumference with a fair accurate measurement. It took us another 2500 years to confirm his calculation! His calculation is very simple and logical. He was intrigued that at Syene, a southern city of Egypt the sun was directly overhead at noon time (which means there were [...]
Archive for the ‘Intellectuals of the past’ Category
Calculating Earth’s Circumference: Eratosthenus (276-195 B.C)
Posted in Intellectuals of the past on June 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Zeno’s paradox: 495 b.c
Posted in Intellectuals of the past on April 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Zeno’s paradox origins from the concept that a single line segment will have an infinite number of points. The paradox is the following. If Achilles tries to catch a tortoise that is slightly ahead of him, he cannot reach the tortoise at a finite time. By the time Achilles reaches the initial position of the [...]
