Misnomers in Mathematics Part I

Misnomers in mathematics often stem from early points of view or actual errors in reasoning. The name "geometry," literally meaning "earth measure," hardly describes the geometry of today. Nor, in the case for numbers, do such terms as rational and irrational, real and imaginary, surds, and still others, reflect modern day thinking.

Even as numerical and geometric terms evolved in a way that is sometimes mysterious, so too may famous problems, as mathematical milestones, be named in a confusing manner.

Table of Contents:

PYTHAGORAS, THE MAN AND THE MYTH

HERON OR ARCHIMEDES?

WHO DISCOVERED PASCAL'S TRIANGLE?

DESCARTES' RULE OF SIGNS

INDETERMINATE FORMS

TO THINK ABOUT

LOOKING AHEAD

REFERENCES