How was geometry discovered?

Answer 1

Geometry probably arose as an extension of individuals thinking about shapes and about the arrangement of objects in space. Early man had to consider things like the distances and areas of land, and the volume of shapes of containers that were used to hold materials. Practical applications of these ideas allowed what we call geometry to "sneak into" the consciousness of man, and later thinkers actually formed a body or work to "collect" them them and give them structure.

Euclid, the Greek mathematician and philosopher of note, actually pulled together geometric ideas and set them down in a form that carried forward. Consider that over two thousandyears have elapsed since he penned Elements. This more formal structure is made to look modern when we consider that Stonehenge, a formation of large stones in England, was pulled together over four thousand years ago, and not without the inclusion of geometric ideas.

Tracing a path from the "discovery" of geometry to the current state of this branch of mathematics would require an investigator to sit through several college courses and spend thousandsof hours doing research. This fastidious researcher would be delving into many writings from ages gone, and would find documents from many cultures and originating across broad areas of geography. Further, those remnants (like Stonehenge) of times before writing would stand in mute testimony to the fact that geometric principles were understood and applied by early man. And no amount of digging will allow us to see the complete picture of those things. We can only speculate as to the extent of the things people then had in mind and wanted to do in that age.

Use the link below, read the whole article (with a clear head) and two things will happen. First, you will appreciate the great span of time over which geometric ideas were diveloped and how difficult it is to pinpoint an "origin" for them. Next to counting and ording using numbers, geometry is probably the oldest mathematical form we used. The second thing is that it's a lead pipe cinch you will come away with more questions than were answered by the article. That's because there are holes in our knowledge of this ancient branch of mathematics. Perhaps you'll chart a path to a deeper understanding of geometry, and you may be able to fill in some of the holes in what we know about geometry.