Eureka! Eureka!_x000D_ _x000D_ Supposed to have been his cry, jumping naked from his bath and running in the streets, excited by a discovery about water displacement to solve a problem about the purity of a gold crown.
ArchimedesRead
I am persuaded that this method [for calculating the volume of a sphere] will be of no little service to mathematics. For I foresee that once it is understood and established, it will be used to discover other theorems which have not yet occurred to me, by other mathematicians, now living or yet unborn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Archimedes expresses the significance of a new method in mathematics for calculating the volume of a sphere.
In this quote, Archimedes reflects on the potential impact of his method for determining the volume of a sphere, emphasizing that it will not only aid current mathematicians but will also inspire future generations to uncover new theorems and discoveries. He acknowledges the collaborative and progressive nature of scientific inquiry, where one advancement can pave the way for countless others.
Themes
MathematicsDiscoveryTheoremArchimedesKnowledgeFuture
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of mathematical innovations, this quote can be used to highlight the impact of new methods.
More from Archimedes
All quotes →Rise above oneself and grasp the world.
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Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.
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Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world.
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There are things which seem incredible to most men who have not studied Mathematics.
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Having been the discoverer of many splendid things, he is said to have asked his friends and relations that, after his death, they should place on his tomb a cylinder enclosing a sphere, writing on it the proportion of the containing solid to that which is contained.
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