Blaise Pascal is one of the famous French mathematicians known all through the world. He is also recognized for his work in physics, inventions, writing and Christian philosophy. He was born Clermont-Ferrand in France on 19th June, 1623. His mother died when he was only three years old. He had two siblings Jacqueline and Gilberte who he was exceptionally close to them. He was a child prodigy and was educated by his father who was a tax collector and a local judge. His father was a talented mathematician.
Etienne with his family moved to Paris in 1631. Pascal was taught by his father who in omitted mathematics from the curriculum he was using to teach his son. The fact that he was not taught mathematics made him like it more. At age 16 he presented some of his theorems including the ‘mystical hexagon’ in a forum where the premier mathematicians of the time like Mersenne, Pierre Gassendi and Clyde Mydorge were in attendance.
In the year 1640, the family moved to Rouen in France where his father had been sent as a tax collector. In the year 1646, his father was seriously injured in an accident which rendered him incapacitated for the rest of his life. It was this accident that lead to change of family’s religious beliefs. A group visited the family and convinced them to change to Jesuits. Since he was a teenager, Pascal struggled with insomnia and painful digestive disorder referred to as Dyspepsia. In his adult life, he continued to struggle with migraines. He never married and died on 19th August 1662 at age 39 due to a malignant stomach tumor (Farrell, 2006).
Pascal contribution to mathematics
In the year 1642, at a teenage age, Pascal pioneered the work of developing calculating machines. He produced fifty prototypes over a three year period after which he invented the mechanical calculator. The mechanical calculator, which was the only working calculator in the 17th century, was a device that was used to perform basic arithmetic operations (Farrell, 2006).
He also contributed to projective geometry which is the study of geometric properties that remain invariant under projective transformations. When compared to elementary geometry, projective geometry is characteristically different in that it has the projective space. In the projective space, the intuition and perspective are used. For example while drawing perspective railway lines, which are parallel, they are drawn such that they meet in what can be said to be the infinite space. Therefore in projective geometry terms, parallel lines can be said to meet at a point in infinity.
In the year 1653, Pascal tabulated binomial coefficients which are commonly known as the Pascal’s Triangle.
In 1654 Pascal and Fermat, who was a gambler, worked together and they came up with the theory of probabilities. The theory of probability states that the higher the probability, the higher the like hood of an event occurring (Farrell, 2006).
Contribution to Philosophy of mathematics
In his book, De l'Esprit géométrique ("Of the Geometrical Spirit"), he discussed on how to discover truths. He argued that the ideal method would only be found if all propositions already existing are based on truth. Since this could not be possible he argued that some principles had to be assumed so as that other procedures in geometry could be developed from these assumptions.
Other contributions
Pascal made several other inventions in the field of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics both of which were based on the principles of hydraulic fluids. He was the inventor of hydraulic press and the syringe. Based on the Galileo and Torricelli, he rejected the Aristotelian view of creation being a thing of substance whether visible or invisible. He also made other contributions on religion, actuarial science and economics (Farrell, 2006).
Pascal’s development of the various mathematical concepts has helped revolutionize the society. His ideas on the development of the calculator can be viewed as one of the earliest attempts at computing. His development on the theory of probability has had an immense effect on the development of various industries, key of then being the insurance industry which is heavily dependent on probability in the evaluation of risks and in determining the levels of premiums. Financial markets also rely heavily on the probability theory in their operations to determine the risk and return perspectives on financial instruments (Farrell, 2006).
Pascal also developed a reference point in matters of religion. His arguments are used today in the many religious debates that occur, and this has had the positive effect of having an informed debate in what is probably of the most controversial topics in modern times (Farrell, 2006).
Works Cited
Adamson, Donald. "Pascal's Views on Mathematics and the Divine," Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study (eds. T. Koetsier and L. Bergmans. Amsterdam: Elsevier 2005.
Cederberg, Judith N. A Course in Modern Geometries. New York: Springer-Verlag 2001.
Davidson, Hugh M. Blaise Pascal. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983.
Mourlevat, Guy Les machines arithmétiques de Blaise Pascal (in French). Clermont-Ferrand: La Française d'Edition et d'Imprimerie, 1988. pp 12.
Farrell, John. "Pascal and Power". Chapter seven of Paranoia and Modernity: Cervantes to Rousseau, Cornell UP, 2006.
