From 338 BC when the Greek states were controlled by Macedonia, to more than 300 years after Rome destroyed the last Hellenistic state, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, history calls the "Golden Age" of Greek mathematics, and our "godfather of geometry" Euclid was born in this era, and his achievements marked the peak of ancient Greek mathematics.
Euclid was a culmination of Greek arguments for geometry, and Euclid wrote many works on mathematics, astronomy, optics, and music, the most important of which was the Primitive Geometry. The original meaning of "original" refers to the most important law with wide application in a discipline, and Euclid used the axiom method in this original book to systematically and theoretically summarize the mathematical knowledge of the time. Until now, the Primitive Geometry is one of the most important works of geometry. So much so that we call this geometry "European geometry."
Albert Einstein once said: "A man, when he was first introduced to Euclid geometry, would not have become a scientist if he had not been moved by its clarity and reliability." ”
Euclid was a rigorous mathematician, but he was not as old-fashioned, serious as people think, and sometimes very humorous.
Once, one of his students asked Euclid, "What good would it be to study geometry?" Euclid did not answer the student's question, but turned to the servant and said, "Take three coins to this gentleman, for he wants to make a real profit in his studies." The student was ashamed of himself.
From this, we can see Euclid's attitude toward mathematics. He advocated that study must be carried out step by step, unremitting efforts to study, and did not approve of the opportunistic style, and even more opposed the narrow concept of use. So he was very disgusted by the student's question, but he did not say it explicitly, but used this kind of bitter irony to lash out at the student, which was both funny and humorous, and showed his attitude, which was really an interesting old man.
During the Greek period when Euclid lived, mathematics, under the impetus of Euclid, gradually became a fashionable topic in people's lives, so much so that Ptolemy I, the king of Alexandria at that time, also wanted to catch up with the fashion and learn some geometry.
Although the king was well informed, Euclidean geometry made him very difficult to learn, so he asked Euclid, "Is there any shortcut to learning geometry?" Euclid laughed: "Sorry, Your Majesty, there is no shortcut to learning mathematics like learning all sciences, and to learn mathematics, everyone has to think independently, just like planting crops, and there is no gain without cultivation." In this respect, the king and the common people are the same. ”
Since then, "in geometry, there is no road paved for the king", this saying has become a motto of learning that has been recited throughout the ages.
Euclid was born in Athens, when Athens was the center of ancient Greek civilization, and the rich cultural atmosphere deeply infected Euclid, and when he was a teenager, he couldn't wait to enter the "Plato Academy" to study.
Plato's Academy was a school founded by Plato at the age of 40 to teach mathematics. Plato's claim that "God is a geometrist" became not only the dominant idea of the students, but also the increasing acceptance of the Greek people, who gradually liked mathematics, and Eugyrid was no exception.
One day, a group of young people came to Plato's School in the shade of a forest on the outskirts of Athens, only to see the gates of the academy closed. It reads "No one who does not understand geometry is allowed to enter", which is a rule made by Plato himself in order to let the students know the importance he attaches to mathematics.
However, the young people who came to seek advice were confused, and some people were thinking, it is precisely because I do not understand mathematics that I have to come here to seek advice, if I understand, what else do I come here to do? Just as the people were looking at each other, not knowing whether to retreat or advance, Euguired stepped out of the crowd, only to see him dressed up, look at the sign, and then decisively push open the door of the academy and walk in without looking back.
Euclid studied intensively in the "Plato Academy", and after a deep investigation of Plato's thought, he concluded that the figures were drawn by God, and that the logical laws of all phenomena were embodied in the figures. Therefore, the training of intelligence should start from the geometry with graphics as the main object of study. Euclid said, "Geometry is the gymnastics of the human mind."
At that time, the young Euclid walked into the back of Plato's academy without fear of all obstacles and did not turn his head back, and told the world that only those who dared to break through all obstacles and concentrate on studying could understand the true meaning of mathematics. It was with this determination and will that Euclid followed the path that Plato had traveled, taking the study of geometry as his main task, and finally achieving achievements that the world admired.