Reflection Paper: Apollonius of Perga
Background:
Apollonius of Perga was known as 'The Great Geometer'. Little is known of his life but his works have had a very great influence on the development of mathematics, in particular his famous book Conics introduced terms which are familiar to us today such as parabola, ellipse and hyperbola.
‘The Great Geometer’ was born in Perga, Pamphylia which today is known as Murtina, and is now in Antalya, Turkey. Perga was a centre of culture at that time and it was the place of worship of Artemis, a nature goddess. When he was a young man, Apollonius went to Alexandria where he studied under the followers of Euclid and later he taught there.
Reflection:
In his writings on the conic sections, Apollonius deliberately alluded those who have worked on the realm of his studies through restating his view on their ideas. These have encompassed most of his early books which were elementary elaborations on Geometry. He then evaluated them in his own perspective and explored the uncharted possibilities which the early pioneers have overlooked.
In his experience, one quote came to me, the one which I have pondered on earlier this year. In Apollonius’ feat he wasn’t set off to search the ambiguity of the field unarmed. He had with him the knowledge that comes from the known world as established by the avid foregoers of knowledge. He had stepped on the shoulders of giants to see the looming picture of what lies ahead. And it has done him good. Not only was he able to establish a reputable name for himself but he was also able to unearth a newfound approach on the field of geometry.
His life has instilled into me a yearning to probe the indistinct course of knowledge through improving upon the light streaming from the mind of others. No one should see such as a clichéd innovation. Knowledge is consists of an interwoven link which shall stretch further through the days of the earth.