What are Euclids Elements About?
Euclid’s Elements is a mathematical work made up of 13 books written by the Greek mathematician Euclid in circa 300BC. Each book contains definitions, postulates (self-evident truths), propositions, and theorems in the study of Geometry and Number Theory. The Elements make up the oldest formal and deductive treatment of mathematics. Reproducing the proofs of some of the propositions have been an integral tool in training one’s mind to think in a logical and deductive manner from Euclid’s time to the present. An Example of a Deductive Proof From Euclid’s Elements – Book I, Proposition 6 If in a triangle two angles equal one another, then the sides opposite the equal angles also equal one another. The The way to prove this is to assume that the conclusion is false the sides opposite the equal angles do not equal one another. while assuming that the premise in a triangle two angles equal one another is true and show that there is a contradiction. In this way, we indirectly prove that the
