History of Maths Part 3: Descartes

Hello and welcome to Martin Maths
Today we are looking briefly at some history of mathematics, a series on some key discoveries in maths
Here we look at
Rene Descartes and his contribution to maths, notably the Cartesian Plane

So where did he come from?
Rene Descartes was born in 1596 in France, but worked for the Dutch Republic

He was a mathematician, scientist and philosopher
Known for his discoveries in these subjects, advancements in modern western philosophy, and existential quotations like
“I think therefore I am”

His world was one of the the beginnings of the scientific revolution and the Dutch Golden Age,
one of the great naval powers

So what is his contribution?
He made developments in algebra, geometry
and introduced the cartesian plane

So in the same way we would rather use a grid for a map than a straight line...
while we can solve equations in Algebra, the visual solution of a graph on a grid is just as important

Even in the algebraic notation, Descartes introduced the use of letters like x, y, and z for variables, or unknowns and superscripts for x squared (x^2)
His discoveries laid the foundation for Newton and Leibniz work on calculus,

So now we can find our way home, plot graphs, use algebra and solve exam questions!

Please do have a look at some of my videos showing how to plot coordinates and other exam questions and look out for more in this history of maths series

Don’t forget to like, subscribe and share

Words 250

Pictures/labels!
Descartes
Cartesian Plane
France
Quotation
Scientific revolution
Naval Battles
Algebra, x^2
Line map
Grid map
Graph solution
Algebra solution
Newton
Leibniz
Calculus
Exam questions

Sources
4. 10 key points
5. timeline dates and names and places
6. Brittanica
7. Wikipedia, wikimedia
8. Desmos