Mathematicians Of The Day

27th August



On this day in 1760, Leonhard Euler, in his Letters to a German Princess explained how a surveyor uses a level. As an example he asked which end of the straight line between their homes was higher. He discussed the flow of the rivers that connect their homes, but gave the wrong answer to his question.

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Quotation of the day

From Max Black
... a result once generally accepted by mathematicians is seldom retracted, and then only with great pangs.
The Nature of Mathematics