Pythagoras · Mathematics

The Crisis of the Irrational

How the diagonal of a simple square produced a number that no ratio of whole numbers could express - shattering the Pythagorean faith that all is whole-number ratio, and forcing mathematics to confront the irrational.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned how the discovery of irrational numbers (like the square root of 2) shattered the Pythagorean belief that all magnitudes are ratios of whole numbers. Explain the discovery and why it was a crisis.

Leads to Aristotle.

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