Match 1: Newton vs.
Abel
In this match, we’ve pitted the famous 1600s physicist and
mathematician Isaac Newton against Niels Henrik Abel, after whom the Abel prize
in mathematics is named.
Newton, born into a poor farming family in 1642, went to
Cambridge to become a preacher, and then found his love of mathematics. His
contributions to mathematics are numerous- the most significant of which is
perhaps the invention of Calculus, which he developed separately from
Leibniz. Not just a mathematician-
Newton was also an accomplished physicist. He penned the Principia Mathematica, inside which the Laws of Motion are written.
According to Wolfram Science World, Newton “contributed more to the development
of science than any other individual in history.”
Abel was a Norwegian mathematician and young prodigy. At
only 16 years of age, Abel determined a proof of the binomial theorem, making
it valid for all numbers and expanding Euler’s findings. He independently
invented the basis of group theory. As a
member of a very poor family, Abel had to enter the Royal Frederick University
on scholarship. However, by the time he entered, he had independently studied
so much mathematics that his professors couldn’t teach him anything new. Abel
never obtained a professorial position, though he tried for several years after
his degree. He died of tuberculosis at 26 years old before seeing recognition
for his work.
