THALES (THAY-leez) of Miletus (c. 636-c. 546 B.C)
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- He was the first Mathematician that found how to measure the height of Pyramids.
- He was the first Mathematician that 'observe a pattern and predict an outcome.' Every time we 'observe a pattern and predict an outcome,' we follow Thales' example.
- In one story, Thales predicted a solar eclips--the moon comes between the sun and the earth.
- We can call Thales inventive, imaginative, resourceful, inquisitive, and briliant, but the word most often used to describe Thales is simply "first."
- He was the first of the "Seven Wise Man" of Greece, a list that later Greeks compiled.
- He was the first to use deductive reasoning, a type of logic, to solve problems.
- He was the first to experiment with electricity, rubbing amber to make static.
- He was the first to suggest that a year was made up of 365 days, instead of 12 months with 30 days each.
- He was also the first to state the basic theorems of geometry.
RESOURCES : Reimer, L., Wilbert R. 1990. Mathematicians are People, too (Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians). Canada, USA: Dale Seymour Publications.
