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# Friday Math Movie - Archimedes

By Murray Bourne, 04 Apr 2008

Archimedes was an extraordinary Greek mathematician who lived from around 287 BCE to 212 BCE.

He lived on an island off Italy called Syracuse. His inventions included the Archimedian Screw, which allowed the user to pump water from ships. It is still used in parts of Asia today.

His mathematical thinking was way ahead of its time. Newton and Lebniz developed Archimedes' ideas almost 2,000 years later when they developed calculus.

This week's movie is the first of a 6-part series about the discovery of an old prayer book that contained some new writings by Archimedes.

In 1991, a small Medieval prayer book was sold at auction. Miraculously, some original writings of Archimedes, the brilliant Greek mathematician, were discovered hidden beneath the religious text.

(Actually, it's a one-hour Nova documentary that has been split into six 10-minute segments for YouTube.)

Enjoy.

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