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Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Color Plates -- Preface -- Prologue: Cambridge, England, 1993 -- 1. Mesopotamia, 1800 BCE -- Sidebar 1: Did the Egyptians Know It? -- 2. Pythagoras -- 3. Euclid's Elements -- Sidebar 2: The Pythagorean Theorem in Art, Poetry, and Prose -- 4. Archimedes -- 5. Translators and Commentators, 500-1500 CE -- 6. Fran�cois Vi�ete Makes History -- 7. From the Infinite to the Infinitesimal -- Sidebar 3: A Remarkable Formula by Euler -- 8. 371 Proofs, and Then Some -- Sidebar 4: The Folding Bag -- Sidebar 5: Einstein Meets Pythagoras -- Sidebar 6: A Most Unusual Proof -- 9. A Theme and Variations -- Sidebar 7: A Pythagorean Curiosity -- Sidebar 8: A Case of Overuse -- 10. Strange Coordinates -- 11. Notation, Notation, Notation -- 12. From Flat Space to Curved Spacetime -- Sidebar 9: A Case of Misuse -- 13. Prelude to Relativity -- 14. From Bern to Berlin, 1905-1915 -- Sidebar 10: Four Pythagorean Brainteasers -- 15. But Is It Universal? -- 16. Afterthoughts -- Epilogue: Samos, 2005 -- Appendixes -- Chronology -- Bibliography -- Illustrations Credits -- Index

An exploration of one of the most celebrated and well-known theorems in mathematicsBy any measure, the Pythagorean theorem is the most famous statement in all of mathematics. In this book, Eli Maor reveals the full story of this ubiquitous geometric theorem. Although attributed to Pythagoras, the theorem was known to the Babylonians more than a thousand years earlier. Pythagoras may have been the first to prove it, but his proof-if indeed he had one-is lost to us. The theorem itself, however, is central to almost every branch of science, pure or applied. Maor brings to life many of the characters that played a role in its history, providing a fascinating backdrop to perhaps our oldest enduring mathematical legacy.

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