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The Pythagorean theorem is the most frequently re-proved thing in the history of math, with hundreds of published proofs and entire books dedicated to collectin
by kibwen 4y ago
The Pythagorean theorem is the most frequently re-proved thing in the history of math, with hundreds of published proofs and entire books dedicated to collecting them. The reason to come up new proofs these days is solely for the novelty, not because we have a need for a simpler proof. The fact that it's such a popular subject for proofs is why novel proofs are inherently interesting, regardless of their complexity.
- TuringTest 4y ago> The reason to come up new proofs these days is solely for the novelty, not because we have a need for a simpler proof. On the contrary, every new way to prove a known theorem has the potential to be applicable in other areas of the same or related fields, extending the mathematicians' toolset with new instruments. These new methods often serve as a seed for new discoveries.