“Mathematica – The Theorem of Pythagoras” by Blinn
Conference:
SIGGRAPH Video Review:
Track:
- 05
Title:
- Mathematica - The Theorem of Pythagoras
Director(s):
Company / Institution / Agency:
- California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Description:
Mathematica is the pilot episode for a series of video tools to teach high-school mathematics. In this three-minute excerpt, several proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem are demonstrated through animation of the geometry, as well as with “algebraic ballets.” The connection is made to real-life problems with a minimum of live footage, and 85 percent of the lesson is computer graphic animation. Mathematica was produced at The Computer Graphics Laboratory of JPL. Animations were first critiqued by a group of high-school teachers. Since the success of The Mechanical Universe and its porting to video disk, special attention was given to the potential for Mathematica’s use in a similar interactive setting.
Additional Contributors:
Animation: James Blinn, Sylvie Rueff
Project Director: Tom Apostol
Funded by: ACM SIGGRAPH and the Educational Foundation of America
Software developed in-house at The Computer GraphicsLab/JPL
Hardware: Vax11/780, GouldIP8500, E&SPS-2, SonyBVH2500
