The mathematical secrets of Pascal’s triangle - Wajdi Mohamed Ratemi
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-mathematical-secrets-of-pascal-s-triangle-wajdi-mohamed-ratemi Pascal's triangle, which at first may just look like ...
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This may look like a neatly arranged stack of numbers, but it's actually a mathematical treasure trove. Indian mathematicians called it the Staircase of Mount Meru. In Iran, it's the Khayyam Triangle. And in China, it's Yang Hui's Triangle. To much of the Western world, it's known as Pascal's Triangle after French mathematician Blaise Pascal, which seems a bit unfair since he was clearly late to the party, but he still had a lot to contribute. So what is it about this that has so intrigued mathematicians the world over? In short, it's full of patterns and secrets. First and foremost, there's the pattern that generates it. Start with one and imagine invisible zeros on either side of it. Add them together in pairs, and you'll generate the ne...
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This may look like a neatly arranged stack of numbers, but it's actually a mathematical treasure trove. Indian mathematicians called it the Staircase of Mount Meru. In Iran, it's the Khayyam Triangle. And in China, it's Yang Hui's Triangle. To much of the Western world, it's known as Pascal's Triangle after French mathematician Blaise Pascal, which seems a bit unfair since he was clearly late to the party, but he still had a lot to contribute. So what is it about this that has so intrigued mathematicians the world over? In short, it's full of patterns and secrets. First and foremost, there's the pattern that generates it. Start with one and imagine invisible zeros on either side of it. Add them together in pairs, and you'll generate the ne...
