The Elements of Euclid

The Elements of Euclid It is a tragedy of mathematics that what we know of Euclid¡¦s life is so meager. It is because of Euclid¡¦s work that mathematics was able progress so rapidly in classical times. Euclid¡¦s masterpiece The Elements was so popular that it became the most widely read book until the twentieth century (with the exception of The Bible). However, our tragedy lies in what we actually know about Euclid. …

…Euclid used the following formula to determine this: 1- Euclid¡¦s formula, if -1 is prime then, ( -1) is a perfect number 2- For example, 2 -1=7 3- 2 =4 4- 4*7=28 5- The divisors of 28 are: 1,2,4,7, and14. 6- Which when added make: 1+2+4+7+14=28, a perfect number!10 It is easy to see with everything previously mentioned that Euclid was an astonishing mathematician. It¡¦s safe to say that Euclid¡¦s Element¡¦s was the canon of mathematics in classical times.