Alright, let’s see a show of hands — don’t worry, we can’t tell. How many of you have taken a course in analytical geometry in high school or college? I thought so, very few have taken such a course.

What Aczel did for mathematician Fermat (Fermat's Last Theorem) he now does for Descartes in this splendid study about the French philosopher and mathematician (1596–1650) most famous for his paradigm ...

The French polymath René Descartes (1596-1650) lived after the Renaissance, but he personified that age's interest in mathematics, philosophy, art, and the nature of humanity. He made numerous ...

Problem: Find the coordinates for the center of the circle in the accompanying illustration. Here is a motivational strategy for getting students interested in coordinate geometry. Since coordinate ...

Rene Descartes (1596–1650) is the author of perhaps the most famous philosophical quote of all, cogito ergo sum, usually rendered as I think, therefore I am. There is however more to this quote, and ...

“Cogito, ergo sum” – “I think, therefore I am” – is probably the most famous line ever uttered by a philosopher, and likely the only Latin some Americans know. So today, on what would have been the ...