Talk:Euclid
Criticism
This article misses the single most important point about Euclid, that he was the first author to put forward a systematic method of proof resting on axioms and definitions and a sequence of logical statements which proceed inexorably towards a conclusion. This is the method of proof which has become the 'holy grail' of scientists and philosophers ever since. For example, Newton, in Principia Mathematica applied the same notion to the physical world, starting with the three lawa of motion, and was able to deduce planetary motion. All of physics is underpinned by this idea, and the scientific method aspires to its structure and success; pseudosciences such as astrology try to mimic the processes, but unsuccessfully, as the requirements of producing a clearly-defined set of principles from which mathematical formulations can be derived are ususally too demanding.
--CatWatcher 15:52, 4 April 2007 (EDT)
