History of mathematical notation back to any school or period before that of the Ionian Greeks, but the subsequent history may be divided into periods, the distinctions between which are tolerably well marked. Greek mathematics, which originated with the study of geometry, tended from its commencement to be deductive and scientific. Since the fourth century AD, Pythagoras has commonly been given credit for discovering the Pythagorean theorem, a theorem in geometry that states that in a right-angled triangle the area of the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of
Fermat's right triangle theorem and the other is odd. Therefore, both formula_39 and formula_40 are even, one of which is divisible by 4. From these two numbers Fermat derives two more numbers formula_41 and formula_42, one of which is even by the previous sentence. Because formula_43 is a square, formula_44 and formula_45 are the legs of another primitive Pythagorean triangle whose area formula_46. Since formula_27 is itself a square and since formula_48 is even, formula_49 is a square. Thus, any Pythagorean triangle with square area leads to a smaller Pythagorean triangle with square area, completing the proof. Fermat's right triangle theorem Fermat's right triangle