1. The story of "0"

Roman numerals use several symbols to represent numbers. They are combined according to certain rules to represent different numbers. In this use of numbers, the number "0" is not needed.

At that time, a scholar in the Roman Empire discovered the symbol "0" from Indian notation. He found that with "0", it is extremely convenient to perform mathematical operations, and also introduced the Indian method of using "0" to everyone. This matter was known to the Pope in Rome at that time. The pope was very angry. He rebuked that the sacred numbers were created by God, and there was no monster "0" in the numbers created by God. So he ordered that the scholar be caught and his ten fingers tightened with clamps. The clamping made his hands crippled and he could no longer hold a pen and write. In this way, "0" was expressly banned by the ignorant and cruel Pope of Rome.

However, although the use of "0" was prohibited, Roman mathematicians still ignored the ban and still secretly used "0" in mathematical research, and still used "0" to do a lot of mathematics. contribution to. Later, "0" was finally widely used in Europe, while Roman numerals were gradually phased out.

2. A slight mistake can lead to a huge mistake

On August 23, 1967, when the Soviet Soyuz 1 spacecraft returned to the atmosphere, a vicious accident suddenly occurred - deceleration. The parachute failed to open. After studying it, the central leadership of the Soviet Union decided to broadcast the accident live throughout the country. When the TV announcer announced in a heavy tone that the spacecraft would crash in two hours and the audience would witness the martyrdom of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, the whole country was suddenly shocked and people were immersed in it. In great sorrow.

On TV, the audience saw the calm image of cosmonaut Komarov. With a smile on his face, he told his daughter: "When you study, you must take every decimal point seriously. What happened to Soyuz 1 today was because a decimal point was ignored during ground inspection?"

Even a decimal point Mistakes can also lead to a tragic farewell that can never be repaired.

Caesar the Great of ancient Rome had a famous saying: "In war, major events are often the consequences of small things." The aphorism in China is probably "a mistake of a hair is a mistake of a thousand miles." Bar.

3. A mathematician inspired by a story

Chen Jingrun, a well-known mathematician, made a major contribution to overcoming Goldbach's conjecture and created the famous "Chen's Theorem". So many people affectionately call him the "Prince of Mathematics". But who would have thought that his achievement stems from a story.

One day, Teacher Shen Yuan told everyone a story in math class: "Two hundred years ago, a Frenchman discovered an interesting phenomenon: 6=3+3, 8=5+3, 10=5+5, 12=5+7, 28=5+23, 100=11+89. Every even number greater than 4 can be expressed as the sum of two odd numbers, so it is still one. Conjecture. The great mathematician Euler said: Although I can't prove it, I am sure that this conclusion is correct.

It is like a beautiful halo, shining with dazzling light not far ahead of us. ?" Chen Jingrun stared, entranced.

From then on, Chen Jingrun became very interested in this wonderful question. In his spare time, he loved to go to the library. Not only did he read middle school guidance books, but he also devoured the university's mathematics, physics and chemistry course textbooks. Hence the nickname "nerd".

Interest is the first teacher. It was this mathematical story that aroused Chen Jingrun's interest, triggered his diligence, and thus became a great mathematician.

4. The "forgetfulness" of mathematicians

On the 60th birthday of Professor Wu Wenjun, a Chinese mathematician, he got up at dawn as usual and immersed himself in calculations and formulas all day long.

Someone specially selected this day to pay a visit in the evening. After exchanging greetings, he explained the purpose of his visit: "I heard from your wife that today is your sixtieth birthday, and I came here to express my congratulations." Wu Wenjun seemed to have listened. After reading this piece of news, he suddenly realized and said: "Oh, really? I forgot about it." The visitor was secretly surprised and thought: The mathematician's mind is full of numbers, how come he can't even remember his own birthday?

In fact, Wu Wenjun has a very good memory for dates.

When he was nearly sixty years old, he tackled another difficult problem - "machine proof". This is to change the way mathematicians work with "a pen, a piece of paper, and a brain" and use electronic computers to realize mathematical proofs, so that mathematicians can free up more time for creative work. He is doing During the research on this topic, I clearly remembered the date when the electronic computer was installed and the date when more than 300 "instructions" were finally programmed for the computer.

5. The story of Hua Luogeng

Students all know that Hua Luogeng is a world-class mathematician who is self-taught. He only had a junior high school diploma. After publishing a paper in the magazine "Science", he was appreciated by the mathematician Xiong Qinglai. From then on, Hua Luogeng went north to Tsinghua University and began his career in mathematics.

In 1936, upon the recommendation of Professor Xiong Qinglai, Hua Luogeng went to England to study in Cambridge. Hardy, a famous mathematician in the 20th century, had long heard that Hua Luogeng was very talented. He said: "You can get a doctorate in two years." But Hua Luogeng said: "I don't want to get a doctorate. I only ask for a visit." "

"I came to Cambridge to learn, not to get a degree." In the past two years, he concentrated on studying the theory of stacked prime numbers and discussed the Waring problem, the altruism problem, and Goethe's odd numbers. He published 18 papers on Bach's problem and came up with the famous "Fahrenheit's Theorem", which showed the outstanding wisdom and ability of Chinese mathematicians to the world.

6. Mathematical genius among animals

The bee hive is a strict hexagonal column. One end of it is a flat hexagonal opening, and the other end is a closed hexagonal rhombus. The base consists of three identical rhombuses. The obtuse angle of the rhombus that makes up the chassis is 109 degrees 28 minutes, and all acute angles are 70 degrees 32 minutes, which is both strong and material-saving. The wall thickness of the hive is 0.073 mm, and the error is extremely small.

Red-crowned cranes always fly in groups and form a "human" shape. The angle of the "herringbone" shape is 110 degrees. A more precise calculation also shows that half of the angle of the "herringbone" shape - that is, the angle between each side and the direction of the crane group's advance is 54 degrees, 44 minutes and 8 seconds! The angle of the diamond crystal is exactly 54 degrees, 44 minutes and 8 seconds! Is it a coincidence or some kind of "tacit understanding" of nature?

7. Tang Seng and his apprentice picked peaches

One day, Tang Seng ordered his apprentices Wukong, Bajie and Sha Seng to go to Huaguo Mountain to pick some peaches. Not long after, the three apprentices came back happily after picking peaches. Master Tang Seng asked: How many peaches did each of you pick?

Bajie smiled and said: Master, let me test you. We each picked the same number. There were less than 100 peaches in my basket. If I counted 3 by 3, there would be 1 left at the end. Do the math, how many did each of us pick?

Sha Monk said mysteriously: Master, I’m here to test you too. If I count the peaches in my basket 4 by 4, there will be 1 left at the end. Do the math, how many did each of us pick?

Wukong smiled and said: Master, I’m here to test you too. If I count the peaches in my basket five by five, there will be only one left at the end. Do the math, how many do we each pick?

8. Measuring the height of the pyramid

One day, Thales saw people looking at the notice, and he also went up to look. It turned out that the notice said that the Pharaoh was looking for the smartest person in the world to measure the height of the pyramid. Thales went to Pharaoh. The Pharaoh asked Thales what tools he used to measure the pyramids. Thales said that he only used a stick and a ruler, which everyone thought was strange.

He inserted the wooden stick next to the pyramid, and when the shadow of the wooden stick was as long as the wooden stick, he measured the pyramid. He measured the length of the pyramid's shadow and half the length of the side of the pyramid's base. Add these two lengths together to get the height of the pyramid. Thales was truly the smartest man in the world. He measured the height of the pyramid without having to climb to the top.

9. Weiner’s story

Once Weiner moved house, his wife was familiar with all aspects of Weiner and reminded him repeatedly the night before moving. She also found a note with the address of her new home and exchanged the key for the old house with the key to the new house. Weiner went to work the next day with the note and keys. Someone happened to ask him a math question during the day, and Weiner wrote the answer on the back of the piece of paper and handed it to the person.

In the evening Weiner habitually returned to his old residence. He was surprised that no one was home. Looking through the window, the furniture was gone. I took out the key to open the door and found that it didn't fit my teeth at all.

So I banged the door a few times, and then walked around in the yard. Suddenly I noticed a little girl running down the street. Weiner said to her: "Little girl, I am so unlucky. I can't find my home and my key can't fit in." The little girl said: "Dad, that's right. Mom asked me to come to you."

10. Interesting Digital Couplets

When Su Dongpo, the great poet of the Song Dynasty, went to Beijing to take the exam with several schoolmates when he was young. When they arrived at the examination hall, it was too late. The examiner said: "I will give you a couplet. If you are right, I will let you enter the examination room. "

The examiner's first couplet is: A lonely boat, with two or three students on it, using four oars and five sails, passed six beaches and seven bays, and experienced eight. It's a shame that it's so late. The second couplet written by Su Dongpo is: Ten years of hard work, I entered ninety-eight academies, gave up all my emotions, studied the Five Classics and Four Books, and took the exam three times and two times. I must pass the exam today. Both the examiner and Su Dongpo embedded the ten numbers from one to ten. In the couplet, the hardships and hardships of scholars are vividly described.

Extended information:

Interest is the best teacher. Only if you like mathematics and fall in love with mathematics can you learn mathematics well. Let every reader fall in love with mathematics and no longer regard mathematics as a boring and difficult subject. This is the starting point of the editor's editing of this book.

This book is closely related to real life, based on the textbook content, and implements the standard concepts of the new curriculum. It tells each lesson from the aspects of numbers, operations, measurement, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability, logical reasoning, etc. Wonderful little story. This book vividly and vividly tells each knowledge point, which is the key for you to easily open the door to the kingdom of mathematics.