Cardano | An Introduction to a History of Mathematics

Join debut host Jared Davis and Sagar Devkate as we introduce a new series discussing the history of mathematics.

Girolamo Cardano died in 1576, two centuries before the publication of Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations and the signing of Declaration of Independence of the American Colonies. Working in Padua, Italy as a gambler, astrologer, and an unlicensed practicing physician, Cardano succeeded in solving a class of questions that eluded the mathematicians for eons — the general solution to the cubic equation.

Why did some of human-kind fail to understand concepts that are now taught to elementary students worldwide? Why was there controversy surrounding Cardano’s book, Ars Magna, which helped propel European mathematics into the modern era? How did Cardano solve the cubic equation, not having any consistent theory of negative numbers or even symbolic conveniences like the equals “=” sign?

We’ll explore these questions and more during our first History of Mathematics Salon.

Prior to the Salon, please read through the online essay Solving the Cubic with Cardano by William Branson and the journal article The Cardano-Tartaglia Dispute by Richard Feldmann.

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