Science and Education Never Stop: Open Inter-University Lecture “Three Titans of Ancient Greek Mathematics”

As part of inter-university cooperation, an open lecture “Three Titans of Ancient Greek Mathematics” took place, bringing together students and faculty of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University and colleagues and students from Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, which also served as a presentation of the eponymous educational book.

The lecturer of this captivating online event was its author, Mykola Valeriiovych Kudinov, Associate Professor of the Department of Mathematics and Methods of Teaching at the Faculty of Physical-Mathematical, Computer and Technological Education of BSPU, who masterfully guided the audience through millennia of mathematical thought.

Students and faculty of both universities learned about the fundamental contributions of Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes to the development of mathematics and their influence on modern science.

Special attention was drawn to the story of Pythagoras and his legendary theorem. Students learned about the gnomon as a tool of ancient Greek mathematicians, explored the fractal beauty of the Pythagorean Tree, and analyzed various proofs of the eponymous theorem – from the classical methods of Pythagoras himself and Euclid to Leonardo da Vinci’s elegant geometric approach and modern differential proof using the method of infinitesimals. A separate discussion was devoted to generalizations of the Pythagorean theorem: from de Gua’s theorem for n-dimensional spaces to the non-Euclidean geometries of Riemann and Lobachevsky-Bolyai. Participants saw how one and the same fundamental idea transforms depending on the geometric space – spherical or hyperbolic – demonstrating the incredible flexibility of mathematical thought.

The second part of the lecture was dedicated to Euclid and his monumental work “Elements,” which for two millennia remained the primary textbook of geometry and a model of scientific method. Listeners became acquainted with Euclid’s algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor and studied his proof of the irrationality of the square root of two – one of the first and most elegant proofs by contradiction in the history of mathematics.

The third part of the lecture was devoted to the ingenious Archimedes – mathematician, physicist, and inventor, whose discoveries from calculating π to the laws of hydrostatics impress with their precision and depth.

The lecture clearly demonstrated that even in conditions of war, with constant power outages and devastating shelling that takes human lives, the Ukrainian scientific and educational community continues to live and develop. The online format did not become an obstacle to quality scientific communication, and the students’ and teachers’ thirst for knowledge proved stronger than any difficulties. Ancient Greek thinkers who created in the difficult conditions of the ancient world became a vivid example that true science knows no boundaries or obstacles.

Free access to the full version of the book: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397626746_Tri_titani_davnogreckoi_matematiki_Three_Titans_of_Ancient_Greek_Mathematics