4 ms·
W.R Hamilton's discovery of the Quaternions is semi-famous itself, with the story being that after the critical flash of insight he carved the equation describi
by trylfthsk 5y ago
W.R Hamilton's discovery of the Quaternions is semi-famous itself, with the story being that after the critical flash of insight he carved the equation describing quaternion multiplication into a bridge in Ireland with a penknife.
A interesting read is this letter [0] written the following day, where he explains his ideas in his own words. It's a great (and accessible!) look into his thought process.
[0] https://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Hamilton/QLetter/QLetter.pdf https://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Hamilton/QLette...
- ww520 5y agoThe story goes that he was with his wife going to a dinner. On the way he got the flash of insight after years of working on the problem but he had no paper to write it down. When passing a bridge, he carved the equation on the side of the bridge to remind himself on the way back after the dinner.