Making sense of irrational numbers - Ganesh Pai
1,903,703 Views
8,762 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
Like many heroes of Greek myths, the philosopher Hippasus was rumored to have been mortally punished by the gods. But what was his crime? Did he murder guests or disrupt a sacred ritual? No, Hippasus's transgression was mathematically proving the hitherto unprovable. Ganesh Pai describes the history and math behind irrational numbers.
The diagonal of a square with sides equal to 1 unit is irrational. Are the diagonals of all squares irrational?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Ganesh Pai
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Director Anton Trofimov
- Artist Shixie
- Narrator Pen-Pen Chen
