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> how do you calculate hypotenuse, because it's been a long time since Pythagoras made the last commit. Asinine - everything advances and needs maintenance ove

> how do you calculate hypotenuse, because it's been a long time since Pythagoras made the last commit. Asinine - everything advances and needs maintenance over time, even geometry. I invite you to try building a game without using quaternions or projective (ie non-euclidean) geometry. Edit: does hn award points based on contrariness? Or is it just that people on hn think they're super clever with their contrary point?

defrost 2y ago
quaternions - 1843, Hamilton projective geometry - 1420's but big in the 19th Century. These are things I used heavily programming earth mapping systems in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. Principal reference text was from the 1920s.
- almostgotcaught 2y ago
  ... The guy I responded to is saying Pythagoras is good enough. Do you know what year Pythagoras died?
  - malfmalf 2y ago
    495 BC. And his Theorem is still good enough for most practical purposes, so his point stands
  - defrost 2y ago
    Does that invalidate his theorem (that he cribbed from the Babylonians)?
    - IAmGraydon 2y ago
      No one said it invalidated his theorem. They said it has been expanded upon. Also, comparing web technologies to something as fundamental as the pythagorean theorem is reductionist and overall pretty ridiculous. Web technologies need maintenance. Proven mathematical formulas don’t.
      - defrost 2y ago
        They actually asked if I was aware what year he died. The eponymous triangle work is just as valid as it ever was in Euclidean geometries - lot of work there. That work is just as wrong as it ever was in non-Euclidean geometries - maths is timeless like that. > Also, comparing web technologies to something as fundamental as ... Take that up with whomever it was that did that.
luismedel 2y ago
I understand what you want to say here but... Do you need these things to write Sokoban, Tetris or any other simple 2d game?
IAmGraydon 2y ago
> does hn award points based on contrariness? Or is it just that people on hn think they're super clever with their contrary point? It’s both, and seems to be a theme here. HN generally despises the mainstream, so anything that goes against that is praised with little additional thought. A great example is the recent article about “founder mode” which is definitely one of the most idiotic contrarian things I’ve ever read, but receives heaps of upvotes every time it gets posted.

defrost 2y ago

quaternions - 1843, Hamilton projective geometry - 1420's but big in the 19th Century. These are things I used heavily programming earth mapping systems in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s. Principal reference text was from the 1920s.

almostgotcaught 2y ago
... The guy I responded to is saying Pythagoras is good enough. Do you know what year Pythagoras died?
- malfmalf 2y ago
  495 BC. And his Theorem is still good enough for most practical purposes, so his point stands
- defrost 2y ago
  Does that invalidate his theorem (that he cribbed from the Babylonians)?
  - IAmGraydon 2y ago
    No one said it invalidated his theorem. They said it has been expanded upon. Also, comparing web technologies to something as fundamental as the pythagorean theorem is reductionist and overall pretty ridiculous. Web technologies need maintenance. Proven mathematical formulas don’t.
    - defrost 2y ago
      They actually asked if I was aware what year he died. The eponymous triangle work is just as valid as it ever was in Euclidean geometries - lot of work there. That work is just as wrong as it ever was in non-Euclidean geometries - maths is timeless like that. > Also, comparing web technologies to something as fundamental as ... Take that up with whomever it was that did that.

luismedel 2y ago

I understand what you want to say here but... Do you need these things to write Sokoban, Tetris or any other simple 2d game?

IAmGraydon 2y ago

> does hn award points based on contrariness? Or is it just that people on hn think they're super clever with their contrary point? It’s both, and seems to be a theme here. HN generally despises the mainstream, so anything that goes against that is praised with little additional thought. A great example is the recent article about “founder mode” which is definitely one of the most idiotic contrarian things I’ve ever read, but receives heaps of upvotes every time it gets posted.