French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer.
He has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy,"
“ I think,
Therefore
I am”
Every time you graph a line in a coordinate plane,you are using the work of René Descartes.
Descartes, a French mathematician and philosopher. He was born in La Haye, France on
March 31, 1596. His parents taught him at home until he was 8 years old, when he entered the Jesuit college of La Flèche. There he continued his studies until he graduated at age 18.
Descartes was an outstanding student at La Flèche, especially in mathematics. Because of his delicate health, his teachers allowed him to stay in bed until late morning. Despite missing most of his morning classes was able to keep up with his studies. He would continue the habit of staying late in bed for his entire adult life .
After graduating from La Flèche, Descartes traveled to
Paris and eventually enrolled at the University of
Poitiers. He graduated with a law degree in 1616 and then enlisted in a military. In 1619, he joined the
Bavarian army and spent the next nine years as a soldier, touring throughout much of Europe in between military campaigns. Descartes eventually settled in
Holland, where he spent most of the rest of his life.
There Descartes gave up a military career and decided on a life of mathematics and philosophy.
In 1637 Descartes published his masterwork,
Discourse on the Method of Reasoning Well and Seeking Truth in the Sciences. One chapter called, In La Géometrie, Descartes described what is now known as the system of
Cartesian Coordinates, or coordinate geometry. In Descartes's system of coordinates, geometry and algebra were united for the first time to create what is known as analytic geometry.
Does this look familiar?
Thanks to Descartes, we can graph a line using an algebraic
Equation , Y = MX + B
The Queen was even interested in his ideas!
He settled and studied further studied Math and
Philosophy in Holland
He was so famous, his picture was on
French money!
3 Cheers
For
Descartes
You are a
Cool cat, man