How Greek Maths Changed the World

Professor Alan Davies presents a series of groundbreaking experiments pioneered by the Ancient Greeks. Often called the "birthplace of civilisation", Ancient Greece heralded numerous advances in philosophy, science, engineering and mathematics which have shaped our understanding of the modern world. Assisted by Ri demo technician, Andy Marmery, Professor Davies demonstrates the key discoveries and experiments of many Greek thinkers - from Thales and Pythagoras to Euclid, Archimedes and Hypatia of Alexandria.

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Greek Mathematics
Archimedes

The Archimedes Palimpsest (Google TechTalks)

The Archimedes Palimpsest is a 10th Century medieval manuscript that is the subject of an ongoing technical, scientific and conservation effort at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1999, the multidisciplinary team has been disbinding, conserving, imaging, analyzing, transcribing and studying the 174 parchment folios -- yielding approximately 400Gb of data to date. The Palimpsest, which the team affectionately calls "Archie," includes at least seven treatises by Archimedes: The only copies of two of his Treatises, /The Method/ and /Stomachion/; the only copy in Greek of /On Floating...

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Archimedes (eBooks and Films)
Deciphering Archimedes Palimpsest and Creating Digital Manuscripts

Deciphering Archimedes Palimpsest and Creating Digital Manuscripts

Noel will lecture on the conservation, imaging and scholarship of the Archimedes Palimpsest, a privately owned codex that has been revealed to contain unique texts not only of Archimedes of Syracuse, but also of Hyperides, an Athenian orator from the fourth century BC, and of Alexander of Aphrodisias on Aristotles categories. Dr. Noel will discuss the history of the book and the history of the project, its digital presentation on the web, and mention other manuscript imaging projects currently underway at the Walters Art Museum.

About the Lecturer
Dr. William Noel is Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, a position he took up in 1997. He received his Ph.D in 1993 from Cambridge University England.

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Archimedes (eBooks and Films)
The Archimedes Palimpsest

Archimedes and the Quest for the Theory of Everything

Twenty-three centuries ago Archimedes showed how complicated physical phenomena, such as his Law of Buoyancy, can arise from a few basic assumptions. His seminal work has led to attempts to explain the entire cosmos from a few elementary physical principles. This talk will trace the history of this quest for a Theory of Everything and describe some of the unexpected roadblocks it has encountered in the 21st century.

About the Lecturer
Chris Rorres, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Drexel University and Lecturer of Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Rorres has appeared in many documentaries explaining Archimedes' discoveries, inventions, and continuing influence.

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Archimedes (eBooks and Films)