Rene Descartes

Studying René Descartes in mathematics is an essential step in understanding the history of mathematics and how equations work.

René Descartes, born in France in 1596 in the village of The Hague, was raised by his maternal grandmother in a bourgeois family, with a father advising the Parliament of Brittany.

René Descartes wrote many scientific works during his career.

It started with The World , which describes many everyday physical phenomena, including the movement of the earth around the sun.

However, his most famous work is still The Discourse of Method , published in 1637. Written entirely in French, in it, Descartes exposes several mathematical evolutions. Use letters to describe the unknowns in an equation . This is how we start using x, y, z or a, b, c . Descartes also expresses powers in a particular way for time: instead of writing “xxxx”, he writes “x4”.

He also invented analytical geometry, which consists of representing figures through algebraic calculations through a coordinate system .

Related functions, Cartesian equations, thanks to Descartes for all these great chapters taught in high school that give us headaches! We are joking, the work of these thinkers will endure forever and ever. Rene Descartes