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Is a 2000-Year-Old Formula Still Keeping Some Secrets?

by Keith Kendig

Year of Award: 2001

Publication Information: The American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 107, May 2000, pp. 402-415

Summary: This paper looks for "where triangles go" when Heron's Formula for triangle area gives an imaginary result.

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About the Author: (from The American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 107, No. 5, (2000)) Keith Kendig received his Ph.D. from UCLA under Basil Gordon and subsequently spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Study working with Hassler Whitney. Keith is a firm believer in exploring concrete examples, both in teaching and in discovering, and more often than not, uses the computer to enhance this process. He is a semi-professional cellist, an avid chamber music player, sporadic composer, and regular jogger. He's writing a book on how mathematicians make discoveries.

 

Subject classification(s): Index | Geometry and Topology | Analysis | Complex Analysis
Publication Date: 
Tuesday, September 23, 2008