Lecture in History of Mathematics
What Have We Learned From the Archimedes Palimpsest?
The main source for the works of Archimedes is a medieval manuscript, written originally around in 975 CE and then erased and covered with a prayerbook in the year 1229. Briefly studied in 1906, the full contents of the manuscripts were finally revealed in recent years with the aid of modern technologies. Reviel Netz and William Noel, editors of the works of Archimedes, lead us through this process of discovery and discusses some of the main revelations.
About the speakers: William Noel is the John T. Maltsberger III '55 Associate University Librarian for Special Collections at Princeton University Library. Among his publications is The Archimedes Codex, with Reviel Netz. Reviel Netz is Patrick Suppes Professor of Greek Mathematics and Astronomy at Stanford University. Most recently, he is the author of A New History of Greek Mathematics (CUP 2022).