Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? - MathOverflow most recent 30 from http://mathoverflow.net 2013-06-19T23:15:46Z http://mathoverflow.net/feeds/question/16891 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Milos Munic 2010-03-02T18:36:06Z 2013-05-11T12:04:56Z <p>1=1^2 1+3=2^2 1+3+5=3^2 1+3+5+7=4^2</p> <p>Who's is this theorem, who is the first to realyse this? Nicomah, Aristotel, Archimedes? I need to know for sure and fast plz. thanx</p> http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this/16893#16893 Answer by Jonas Meyer for Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Jonas Meyer 2010-03-02T18:42:27Z 2010-03-02T18:42:27Z <p>I doubt this question has a definitive answer, but Fibonacci discusses this in <em>Liber quadratorum</em>:</p> <blockquote> <p>I thought about the origin of all square numbers and discovered that they arose from the regular ascent of odd numbers. For unity is a square and from it is produced the first square, namely 1; adding 3 to this makes the second square, namely 4, whose root is 2; if to this sum is added a third odd number, namely 5, the third square will be produced, namely 9, whose root is 3; and so the sequence and series of square numbers always rise through the regular addition of odd numbers. </p> </blockquote> <p>My source: <a href="http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Fibonacci.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Fibonacci.html</a></p> http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this/16894#16894 Answer by Mariano Suárez-Alvarez for Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Mariano Suárez-Alvarez 2010-03-02T18:42:56Z 2010-03-02T18:55:43Z <p>According to L. E. Dickson's <em>History of the theory of numbers</em>, vol. 2, ch. 1, this goes back to Pythagoras (570-501 BC)</p> <p><em>Later:</em> Ah... Browsing that book is always fun. «N. Beguelin made a puerile illogical attempt to prove that every number is a sum of three triangular numbers». Poor guy: Dickson does not treat him with any kindness at all...</p> http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this/91450#91450 Answer by Castro for Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Castro 2012-03-17T08:47:47Z 2012-03-17T08:47:47Z <p>Achemides from what I recall but my citations are buried in old discrete math books.</p> http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this/91451#91451 Answer by Stefan for Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Stefan 2012-03-17T09:02:56Z 2012-03-17T09:02:56Z <p>For sure it was a greek person - you can prove it with a picture after all! </p> <p>$X~~=1$ </p> <p>$\begin{matrix}33\newline<br> 13\end{matrix}= 1+3$</p> <p>$\begin{matrix} 555\newline 335\newline<br> 135\end{matrix}= 1+3+5$</p> <p>$\begin{matrix} 7777\newline 5557\newline 3357\newline<br> 1357\end{matrix}= 1+3+5+7$</p> <p>etc.</p> http://mathoverflow.net/questions/16891/sum-of-odd-number-is-a-square-whos-theorem-is-this/128135#128135 Answer by Rhett Butler for Sum of odd number is a square, whos theorem is this? Rhett Butler 2013-04-19T21:05:04Z 2013-05-11T12:04:56Z <p>The original source, attributing this theorem to the early pythagoreans is Theon of Smyrna. Eduard Hiller: Expositio Rerum Mathematicarum ad legendum Platonem utilium. Rec. Theon Smyrnaeus, reprinted by Teubner, Stuttgart, 1995.</p> <p>Further Aristoteles writes, with reference to the early pythagoreans too: "the gnomons are placed round the one" explaining in a somewhat dark manner the geometric aspect of the sum of odd numbers, placed around the 1 <a href="http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/aris20.pdf" rel="nofollow">Physics, book 3, chapter 4</a> as sketched in the answer by Stefan .</p> <p>So there is no chance to find an individual name of the first inventor other than Pythagoras himself. But it is not clear what he really did. No documents of his are left. (Nicomachus, Aristotle, and Archimedes definitively lived too late.)</p>