1 Mersennes’ Laws : Mersennes was born in 1558 in France and was interested in fighting against occult influences. Pagan religions tended to worship nature and math. He pursued the mathematical basis of acoustics without getting confused. Sound is made by pressure waves traveling through the air. His laws tell how to tune an instrument.
2 Cartesian coordinates : Descartes was born in 1596 in france and was educated by the Jesuits. He joined the dutch army and developed a thirst to systemize mathematical physics. His coordinate system was published in 1637. His coordinate system allows the plotting of geometric shapes in algebra notation: X2 + Y2 = 4.
3 Blaise Pascal : He was born in France in 1623 and was a child prodigy, gifted in math. His father took him to Mersennes’ meetings. Pascal is best known for his law. He investigated the concept of the vacuum. He laid the foundations of probabilistic theory and wrote influential theological books.
4 The Mechanical Calculator : Blaise’s family wealth suffered ups and downs and his father became a tax collector for the king of France. Pascal observed the repetitive calculations his father had to do and wanted to help him. So he made the mechanical calculator that could add and subtract and he designed a special carry mechanism.
Stuff That Jack Built 