Mathematician:Xenocrates of Chalcedon

From ProofWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Mathematician

Greek philosopher and mathematician born in what is now Turkey.

Leader of Plato's Academy between 339/8 and 314/3 BCE.


The originator of the first result on record in the field of combinatorics, when (as reported by Plutarch he attempted to find the total number of syllables that could be made from the letters of the alphabet.

An early supporter of atomism, he supported the idea of "indivisible lines" (and magnitudes) in order to counter Zeno's Paradoxes.


Nationality

Greek, of Turkish origin.


History

  • Born: c. 396 BC in Chalcedon (now Kadiköy, near Istanbul), Bithynia (now Turkey)
  • Died: c. 314 BC in Athens, Greece


Publications (all now lost)

  • On Numbers
  • The Theory of Numbers
  • Some works on geometry


Sources