[UA] Re: Pythagoreans

[Liam Astley]

From: "Michael Sands" <michael.sands at generic.gen.nz>
Subject: [UA] Re: Pythagoreans

> I heard an (unsubstantiated) story that they put a member to death for
> believing in the heresy of fractions...

that's spooky. sort of. one of my flatmates told me that exact same story
last week. he works in a bookshop and apparently it was in some "bad boys of
maths" book or something. pythagorus claimed the universe had to be made up
of whole numbers or fractions (like quarters). one of his disciples said
"but what about the sqaure root of 2, that can't be a whole number". so
pythagorus had him drowned.
that's the storu he told me a few days ago, anyway. can't speak for it's
authenticity


liam



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