Top 5 mathematicians and their influence in the world today

Derived from the Greek word “máthēma”, Mathematics is the study of subjects like numbers, structure, space and Change. Throughout history mathematicians have helped us try to understand its nature and this has aided us in our rapid evolution as a society. Galileo Galilei one of the greatest mathematicians said:

The universe cannot be read until we have learned the language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word. Without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth

This post will try and examine the contribution of 5 of the top mathematical influencers of our time.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Considered one of the most versatile mathematicians, Isaac newton has had an influence in many fields. He gave us the three laws of motion, separated light into its constituents and built the first reflecting Telescope. He is credited for being one of the inventors of calculus.

Source

Carl Gauss (1777-1855)

Source

German born Carl Gauss was considered the foremost of mathematicians. His influence was so diverse he was ranked among history's most influential mathematicians. He contributed in many fields including algebra, statistics, analysis, number theory, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, mechanics, electrostatics, magnetic fields, astronomy, matrix theory, and optics.
His book, “Arithmetical Investigations” helped establish the Number theory. Number theory is the study of whole numbers for which we got the foundation for how computers work.

John von Neumann (1903-1957)

Source

A Hungarian-American, Neumann was also another versatile mathematician. He was accomplished in the study of computer science and Physics. He worked closely with Albert Einstein and was part of the team in the “Manhattan Project”. He made discoveries in quantum mechanics, geometry, set theory, game theory, computer science and statistics. His work on the study of self-replication was the foundation for the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Alan Turing (1912-1954)

Source

Alan Turing is considered the founder of Cryptanalysis. He is credited with cracking the enigma code during WWII. The enigma code was a method of securing messages before transmission by German sub marines. He worked for the design of the Automatic Computing Engine. After then, he presented the design of the first stored program computer which we now use today. His work on AI made him come up with the Turing test, an attempt to define a standard for a machine to be called intelligent. A reversed form of the Turing test is the CAPTCHA test on many websites. This is to see if one is Human or a Computer. The Turing Award is given to the best research in computer science.

Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010)

Source

Benoit Mandelbrot credited with discovering the field of Fractal geometry. He had a wide interest in the practical sciences. He used his access to IBM to use computer graphics to create and display fractal geometric images. He contributed to hydrology, statistical physics, geomorphology, anatomy, neurology and linguistics. He also had an influence in information technology, computer graphics, economics, geology, medicine, physical cosmology, engineering, chaos theory and metallurgy.

Thanks for readng

For Further reading: 1 2 3