You either hate or love math; whatever it may be we all know math has been critical in our society’s progression over the years. Understanding secrets of DNA, the rise of computers, creation and transmission of electricity, or attempt to each moon, all was facilitated by math. Here are some brilliant mathematicians whose works contributed vastly to modern society.
Sir Isaac Newton
Considered the greatest scientist of all time, Sir Isaac Newton lived from 1642 to 1727. His contributions are vast involving co-inventing calculus, creating the first reflecting telescope, inventing three laws of motion among others. He was also the first one to decompose white light into component colours. Without Newton, our current world would be very different.
John von Neumann
Born in Budapest in 1903, John von Neumann single-handedly designed the architecture framework based on which every single computer is built on this planet. If you are reading this on a computer or mobile, whatever series of steps the device is repeating a billion times per second was founded by von Neumann. These steps allow the computer or mobile to play music, video, or render any internet article. Before his end days in 1957, he made significant breakthroughs in set theory, geometry, quantum mechanics, game theory, statistics, and computer science.
Carl Friedrich Gauss
If Newton is known as the greatest scientist of all times, Carl Gauss is remembered as the greatest mathematician of all times. Born in 1777 to a poor family in Germany, he was early to outshine mathematics. He wrote ‘Arithmetical Investigations’, which elucidated the number theory without which computers were not possible. The entire premise of computers to solve problems resides on number theory; and that’s one thing besides all his contributions in algebra, statistics, geometry, optics, astronomy to name a few.
Benoit B. Mandelbrot
Born in 1924 in Poland, Mandelbrot invented a set of numbers called the Mandelbrot set. But his discovery of fractal geometry was the claim to fame. Fractals are fundamental to computer animation and graphics. Whatever progress we have made in the field of computer-generated imagery is thanks to his fractal geometry. Even modern-day computer antennas and computer chips reap the benefits of fractals.
Alan Mathison Turing
This British mathematician is known as the father of computer science. His ‘Turing machine’ design is fundamental to how today’s computers operate. ‘Turing test’ is a benchmarking exercise that examines how well an AI program performs. The ‘Turing Award’in computer science is equivalent to what the Nobel Prize is to chemistry!
Now you know about the brilliance of these mathematicians.
