Jacob Bronowski is " not one man but a multitude " said one friend.
Early Days
Born in Poland, 18 Jan 1908.
Died at East Hampton, Long Island, New York from a heart attack, 1974.
Eldest son of Abram Bronowski, owner of a haberdashery firm trading between Poland and London; and Celia Flatto.
Fled with family to Germany when Russia occupied Poland in World War 1.
Moved to England in 1920, educated at the Central Foundation School, London.
" I grew up to be indifferent to the distinction between literature and science, which in my teens were simply two languages for experience that I learned together.
"
Naturalized Briton from 1933.
At Cambridge
First class part (i) of the maths tripos 1928 and Senior wrangler (1930). MA, PhD, Cantab, 1933, Jesus College, Cambridge.
Edited literary magazine in 1927 whilst at Cambridge called Experiment.
Of Cambridge he wrote " All intellectual life was exhilarating and on the move in the six years that I spent there. Quantum physics was transformed by Dirac and the others. Coc •
The famous Pythagorean Theorem, due to the Greek geometer and mathematician Pythagoras (born on the Greek island of Samos circa 580 B.C.E.), asserts that a remarkable and, at the same time, simple relationship exists between the squares of the sides of a right plane triangle. Namely, that the sum of the squares of the two sides adjacent to the right angle is always exactly equal to the square of the side opposite the right angle, the hypotenuse.
Some hints � Bear in mind that the area of a square is equal to its height times its width, which, because the height and width are identical, is just the "square" of any side. Also, focus on the constancy of the total area of the figure, once all four triangles and the small square are in place. Finally, think carefully about what determines the widths of the two square areas separated by the vertical line at the end of the animation (which repeats after a short pause).
If the hints aren't sufficient, don't despair! The animation on the next page is designed to remove any, and all, mystery.
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The Ascent of Man
Jacob Bronowski
Bronowski, Jacob;
The Ascent of Man
BBC 1973 / Little Brown & Co 1976-08 (Paperback $29.95 448 pages)
ISBN 0316109339 / 9780316109338
topics: | history | philosophy-western
I do believe that my father thought that the Ascent of Man was the culmination of his life's work. At the time, that was an unfashionable view to hold, to believe that TV might be a more important memorial than a book, however accessible, but the challenge to produce the rounded intellectual history of mankind was one to which he gave his whole life and it was the memorial he wished to be remembered by. - Lisa Jardine review: Ilmas Futehally: Jacob Bronowski, a mathematician trained in physics, examines the scientific and intellectual history of humankind in his book The Ascent of Man. Though the book is based on the television series aired on BBC in the 1970s, it is far from outdated. Over 30 years after it was first published; The Ascent of Man still invokes pride in our past and instils hope for our future in the reader. Covering a wide canvas from