Transcript Blaise Pascal - WordPress.com

Number History and Theory
Reviewing the contribution made by Blaise Pascal to
number theory, and the underlying concepts
discovered.
“Since we cannot know all that
there is to be known about
anything, we ought to know a
little about everything.”
“We are generally the better
persuaded by the reasons we
discover ourselves than by those
given to us by others.”
Presentation by Stephen Hughes.
MATI003AZ2010/1 - Number Theory, History And Modelling (A) (2010/1)
Who is Blaise Pascal?
Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician born
on June 19th 1623 in Claremont-Ferrand.
He was interested in many different areas;
•
•
•
•
Mathematics
Physics
Theology
Philosophy
And is most famously known for ‘Pascal’s
Wager’.
“If you gain, you gain all. If you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then, without hesitation, that He exists. ”
Pascal The Mathematician
• Traité du triangle arithmétique ("Treatise on the
Arithmetical Triangle“) explored binomial coefficients.
• This resulted in the creation of Pascal’s Triangle.
• Worked on probability and game theory, collaborating
with Fermat.
• Later applied probability to theology (Pascal’s Gambit).
• Famously offered a prize for the quadrature of a cycloid.
He eventually published his own proof under a fake
name
I will be exploring the features of Pascal’s Triangle
“All of our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling.”
Pascal’s Triangle
Below is a visual representation of some of the
interesting facts about Pascal’s Triangle
“If all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world.”
How to Construct the Triangle
The picture below shows how the triangle
is constructed;
1+1 = 2
10+5 = 15
7+21 = 28
9+1 0= 19
“It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.”
Basic Properties
The diagonals (Dx) form a sequence of
numbers;
D1 is always 1
D2 is the natural number series
D3 is the triangular number series
D4 is the tetrahedral number series
D5 is the pentalope number series
The second number in the diagonal determines the Figurate numbers
based on (n-1)-dimensional regular simplex. With the triangular
numbers n-1 = 2 which implies a 2 dimensional nature.
“Even those who write against fame wish for the fame of having written well, and those who read their works desire the fame of having read them.”
Lets Talk about rows
These patterns apply to all subsequent rows;
The red lines represent the
Fibonacci number sequence.
This is the 6th row of the sequence.
The sum of all the green values is
2^(n-1) where n = row number.
If the first non 1 number of a row is
a prime, then all the numbers in the
row are divisible by that number.
Example is in blue.
There is one more trick which is involving the number 11…
“Imagination disposes of everything; it creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are everything in this world.”
The magic 11
Incidentally there is a clever way of instantly
Multiplying anything by 11;
21x11
Add up the digits and place it in the middle
2+1 = 3 21x11 = 231
The digits on any given row reflect
11^(n-1). Be careful beyond 11^4
though!
The red shaded hexagons indicate where digits are carried over. A value
of 10 means we add a 1 onto the previous hexagon.
11^5 = 161051 and not 15101051
“Imagination decides everything.”
A pretty cool Hockey game…
We can form a Hockey Stick shape (red) whereby the sum of
the diagonal equals the number positioned to the
converse diagonal.
The petals
The product of the green petals is;
21x8x84 = 14,112
The product for the yellow petals is;
7x56x36 = 14,112
Let us break them into prime factors;
Yellow = (7)x(2x2x2x7)x(2x2x3x3)
Green = (7x3)x(2x2x2)x(3x2x2x7)
Their prime factors are equal
“Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary.”
Recap
Rows
•
•
•
•
Diagonals
The sum of row n is equal to
2^(n-1).
If value 2 of row n is prime, then
it divides the other numbers
perfectly.
The digits on row n form the
digits of 11^(n-1).
The fibonacci sequence is
contained in a skewed row style.
Hockey Stick
•
The sum of any diagonal is found
by taking the next value on the
converse side of the diagonal.
•
•
•
•
D1 =1.
D2 = N.
D3 = triangular numbers.
Dn = (n-1)-dimensional regular
simplex.
Petals
•
The petal patterns shows that
nearby numbers have the same
prime factors.
Pick one of these bullet points and we
will look closely into the mathematics
behind this…
“Nothing fortifies scepticism more than the fact that there are some who are not sceptics; if all were so, they would be wrong.”
Underlying mathematics
The mathematics behind these facts is extremely interesting.
In the space below I will go through one such proof;
“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.”
Probability
• You can use pascal’s triangle to find probabilities.
• Laid the foundation for subsequent probability theory.
• Based around the binomial distribution theory.
You have sticks labelled A,B,C. You want to know how many
different ways you can arrange these into distinct groups of
two sticks.
• The problem reduces to ‘pick 2 from 3’.
• We can write it in the form nCr (which means pick r from n)
• Therefore our problem is 3C2 (pick 2 from 3)
“Chance gives rise to thoughts, and chance removes them; no art can keep or acquire them.”
nCr in the triangle
Recall that nCr means ‘pick r from n’
We will solve the previous problem using Pascal’s
Triangle; 3C2
n = row number
r = place number
Note that the leftmost 1 is r=0
So we need to find row 3 and place 2
This diagram shows that 3C2 equals 3
The general formula is on the right;
Example: 4C2 should equal 6; (4x3x2x1)/[(2x1)(2x1)] = 6
“Earnestness is enthusiasm tempered by reason.”
Fractals - Sierpinski's Triangle
• A fractal is a pattern formed after a specific iteration
• Discovered by Sierpinski, if you shade in all the odd numbers of
the triangle you get a pattern.
• This pattern repeats indefinitely.
• The black numbers are odd
• The white numbers are even
“We view things not only from different sides, but with different eyes; we have no wish to find them alike.”
Conclusion
• Explored binomial distributions.
• Contributed towards probability theory.
• Pascal’s triangle has fundamental consequences for number
theory.
• Jack of all trades – Pascal enjoyed exploring alternate subject areas
“Through space the universe
encompasses and swallows me up
like an atom; through thought I
comprehend the world.”
References
Bajaj, G (2000). Free powerpoint presentation template. [photograph]. Available at:
http://www.indezine.com/powerpoint/freetemplate/1615.html [Accessed 4th Nov 2010]
Blaise Pascal (n.d). Quotations from Famous people. [online] Available at:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/blaisepasc390555.html [Accessed 7th Nov 2010]
Malcfifty (2010). Pascal’s Triangle. [video online] Available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUqHdxxdbyM [Accessed 4th Nov 2010]
MathForum (2008). Exploring Pascal’s Triangle. [image]. Available at:
http://mathforum.org/workshops/usi/pascal/petals_pascal.html [Accessed 4th Nov 2010]
Peter Fox (1998). "Cambridge University Library: the great collections". Cambridge University Press.
p.13. ISBN 0521626471
Pierce, Rod. "The Sierpinksi Triangle" Math Is Fun. Ed. Rod Pierce. [online] Available at:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/sierpinski-triangle.html [Accessed 8th Nov 2010]
Rogers, B (2003). Pascal’s life and times, "The Cambridge Companion to Pascal", Eds. Nicholas
Hammond, Cambridge University Press.
“Man's greatness lies in his power of thought.”