Galileo: A Contributor to the Study of Math

Galileo: A Math Treatise

Countless mathematicians have changed and improved the study of math throughout history. We all recognize names such as Newton, Aristotle, Archimedes, and many, many more mathematicians that have shaped the study of math throughout history. One of these mathematicians is known throughout the world as Galileo Galilei. Galileo was one of the greatest mathematicians that the world has ever known and he became that mathematician by contributing greatly to the study of math. This is true for three reasons. First of all, everyone knows Galileo as a great scientist, and science is directly related to math. If there can be a distinct connection between math and science, then it can be proved that Galileo was a great mathematician. Another reason that Galileo contributed greatly to the study of math is this: Galileo challenged and corrected the works of mathematicians that came before him. There is certain evidence of his corrections, and those corrections and challenges to previous mathematicians proves Galileo’s contribution to the study of math. Finally, Galileo contributed to math by influencing and inspiring mathematicians that would come after him. Galileo didn’t just contribute to math by making his own corrections. He also paved the way for future mathematicians to correct or add to his works. For these three reasons, Galileo was a huge contributor to the study of math, just like Newton, Archimedes, and Aristotle were. And, by contributing to the study of math, Galileo helped to answer some of the greatest questions that the world had ever asked.

Galileo was known as a great scientist, and because science is directly related to math, then he was also a great mathematician. Much of what is known about Galileo is of his scientific discoveries;[i] mainly of his works in physics and astronomy. For example, Galileo made many contributions to the newly-invented telescope in his time, improving its power and even grinding out its lenses himself.[ii] Galileo loved to observe and predict the movement of stars, but the study of physics was also a huge part of his scientific career. In the attempt to prove Aristotle wrong, Galileo once climbed to the top of the leaning tower of Pisa. In front of a crowd of scholars, Galileo dropped two balls. One of these balls was ten times the weight of the other. Aristotle’s scientific findings said that one object will fall faster than another if it is heavier than that object. Galileo proved him wrong by dropping both balls, and showing the scholars how both balls hit the ground at the same time. Unfortunately, many of these scholars believed that Galileo was tricking them by showing them an illusion, but this story just goes to show Galileo’s interest in physics.[iii] So, knowing that Galileo was, indeed, a scientist, we must now answer this question: how is science related to math? The answer is very simple. In science, there are certain laws and rules that must be followed in order to correctly conduct an experiment, and it is the same way with math. Math has laws and rules that must be followed to solve problems. If you ask any scientist, they will tell you: math is essential to the study of science. Every scientific experiment and observation that is conducted in science must be flawlessly conducted under certain circumstances, laws, and rules which are determined by math. Math is essential to conducting these experiments, and that is why math is directly related to science. Galileo was a great scientist and he was also a great mathematician, because math is directly related and essential to science.

Galileo also contributed greatly to the study of math by correcting and challenging the works of previous mathematicians. Why is this significant? The study of math is an ongoing study, just like science. A very small portion of this study has been discovered, and scientists and mathematicians will keep on adding to and correcting the study of math until everything about math is known to mankind. That is how great mathematicians are made: by adding to and correcting the study of math. Let’s go back to the story that I introduced earlier about Galileo, where Galileo dropped balls off of the tower in Pisa. In this story, Galileo’s sole purpose for conducting his experiment was to correct the works of a previous scientist: Aristotle. Although this specific experiment contributed to the study of physics and science, we must also include this in our comprehension of Galileo’s mathematical greatness, because science and physics are directly related to math. Another example of Galileo contributing to the study of math is Galileo’s study on the mathematics of motion.[iv] Galileo conducted these experiments in order to further prove Aristotle wrong and to try to “slow down gravity” by observing the rate of the acceleration of balls rolling downwards at different angles. Because Aristotle was such a huge influence in the world that Galileo lived in, the vast majority of Galileo’s experiments were attempts to disprove or alter the theories of Aristotle. Unfortunately for Galileo, though, the works of Aristotle were accepted by the Catholic Church as doctrine, and anybody who would not recant their corrections to the works of Aristotle were subject to the punishments of the crime of heresy. Galileo ended his life blindly in jail, and he virtually gave his whole life to correcting the works of Aristotle. The study of math was important to Galileo, and that is why he was such a great mathematician: he corrected the works of those who came before him.

Galileo contributed greatly to the study of math by influencing and inspiring mathematicians that came after him. This is a bonus to Galileo’s findings: he paved the way for future scientists and mathematicians to correct and alter his works. In addition to this, Galileo also influenced and inspired these mathematicians and scientists to continue in their works, treatises, experiments, and observations. Which mathematicians did Galileo influence, though? Well, first of all, Albert Einstein himself referred to Galileo as “the father of modern science”.[v] Einstein is considered by many to be one of the most intelligent and influential mathematicians of all time. Galileo Galilei can certainly take some credit for that. During the same year that Galileo died, another great mathematician was born by the name of Isaac Newton. Newton went on to become a very known and influential mathematician and physicist, and Galileo’s findings in the field of physics certainly had an impact on Newton. For this reason, Galileo greatly contributed to the study of math: he inspired and influenced mathematicians that would come after him. 

In conclusion, Galileo was not just a great scientist; he was a great mathematician who contributed greatly to the study of math. This is true for three reasons: Galileo was a great scientist, and science is directly related to math; Galileo corrected and challenged the works of mathematicians that came before him; and Galileo was a great influence on mathematicians that came after him. Galileo corrected the works of mathematicians like Aristotle, added to the works of mathematicians such as Copernicus, and influenced the works of mathematicians such as Einstein and Newton. For these reasons and for many more, Galileo was a great mathematician that contributed to the study of math greatly.

Bibliography 

1. Fowler, Michael. “Life of Galileo.” University of Virginia. 12 November 2013. <http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/gal_life.htm>

2. Kusukawa, Sachiko. “The Telescope.” The Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Cambridge. 1999. 11 December 2013. <http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/galtele.html>

3. Reimer, Luetta and Wilbert. Mathematicians Are People Too. Lebanon, IN: Dale Seymour Publications, February 7, 1994.

4. “The Art of Renaissance Science: Galileo and Perspective.” McMurry University. 12 November 2013. <http://www.mcm.edu/academic/galileo/ars/arshtml/arstoc.html>

5. Einstein, Albert. Ideas and Opinions. Translated by Sonja Bargmann. London: Crown Publishers, 1954