Plato, Republic, Cave, epistemy, Leonardo, Fibonacci, Liber Abaci

THE MYTH
In the Republic, Plato used the simile of the cave at the climax of his discussion of philosophy. The escape from the cave into sunlight represented the progress of the soul from the illusions of the senses to the world of reality, or epistemy. The similie is a brilliant example of his ability to create myth out of abstract ideas and a major statement of his thoughts.

THE MATH
Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250)
Arabic, Persian, and Hindu achievements in algebra were funneled to Europe, especially to Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries. An important link in this process was Liber Abaci (Book of the Abacus) of 1202 by the Italian mathematician and merchant Fibonacci. He was influenced by Al-Khowarizimi, who used the Arabic term al jabar--consolidation--and hence Fibonacci’s "algebra." In his groundbreaking paper Fibonacci elucidated a problem of rabbit breeding, and what came to be known as Fibonacci numbers.

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Plato, Republic, Cave, epistemy, Leonardo, Fibonacci, Liber Abaci