Episode 30 - Dionysodorus of Amisus & Hypsicles of Alexandria

This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish presents a double bill of underappreciated thinkers from the back shelves of Greek geometry: Dionysodorus of Amisus and Hypsicles of Alexandria in an episode that's part mathematical history, part cubic conundrum, part "wait, he also did astronomy?"

We begin with Dionysodorus, who solved the doubling of the cube problem the way most of us try to solve awkward social encounters: by introducing a few curves. Using a hyperbola and a parabola, he cracked a cubic equation long before Cardano showed up with his pen and existential dread. Along the way, we explore his contributions to sphere-cutting, tomb-building, and possibly very literal underground thinking.

Then it's on to Hypsicles, the man who gave us Book XIV of Euclid’s Elements, redefined the zodiacal calendar, and possibly invented the idea of π/6 symmetry just to impress his astrologer friends. We look at what he added to geometry, why ancient timekeeping is a cosmic mess, and how his legacy has been hiding in plain sight; like a leap day with good PR.

Come for the cubes. Stay for the calendar. And don’t forget to intersect your conics responsibly.

 

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