Episode 150: Mathematics

Your Greek Word On A Sunday

MATHEMATICS/ΜΑΘΗΜΑΤΙΚΑ Μανθάνω (Manthano) in ancient Greek and Μαθαίνω (Matheno) in modern, means 'I learn'. Τέχνη (techne) means 'art' but also 'craft'. Around 600BC a man called Θαλής (Thales)of Miletus decided to put all his efforts in order to prove that not all phenomena are caused by the Gods but that all things are filled with Gods. That was the first step to deductive reasoning. His life, work and legacy are too big to fit in this episode so, do have a read about him if you find the time. Aristotle called him The Father Of Science, as he started measuring heights, distances, explaining earthquakes instead of fearing the God behind them, and asking all the right questions like, 'what is the nature of an object for it to behave that way?'. Gods started being more of a philosophical matter and science took centre stage. Learning was associated with science and excelling in it was considered a serious craft. Θαλής went on to put all sciences under one. In Latin, the study of science was called Ars Mathematica and today we just call it Μαθηματικά/Mathematics

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