1. More than just a theorem (well…a little more)
Pythagoras
More than just a theorem (well…a little more)

2. Biography Between 580 BC and 500 BC
Founded the religion Pythagoreanism
Studied: Metaphysics, Music, Mathematics, Ethics, Politics
Ideas: Musica universalis, Golden ratio, Pythagorean tuning, Pythagorean theorem

3. What we know about Pythagoras
He never recorded any of his theories or thoughts
All information was recorded by students or students of students (Works not as well recorded as Plato recorded Socrates)
Many records have contradicting views of Pythagoras
Aristotle wrote many of the ideas of Pythagoras, though they lived in different periods. His collection of Pythagorean maxims is called: “acusmata”

4. Some Ideas
Observed blacksmiths hitting anvils and wondered why one sounded different than another, then observed that an anvil half the size of another made a note of proportional difference.
This idea was extrapolated onto applications in music and mathematics and led to his doctrine of a universe aligned by numbers.

5. Numbers Pythagorean theorem
He and his followers believed that the universe was guided by numbers and that everything was predictable in rhythmic patterns.
To him, understanding the soul was understanding the numbers of balanced living
“number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons”

6. Metempsychosis
Pythagoras believed that the human soul passed from one form to another after death
A Greek take on reincarnation
Once stopped someone from beating a puppy because he recognized the puppy’s yelp as a friend from a past lifetime
Claims to remember his past lives including one as a Trojan hero
Doctrine : “All animate beings are of the same family”

7. Pythagorean Way of Life
Still practiced by followers over 100 years after his death
Strict specifications of religious rituals (enter the temple barefoot before sacrifice)
Consensus is that Pythagoreans lived life to ensure the best possible reincarnations
Since all animate beings are equal, many believe Pythagoreans were vegetarians or that they would only eat certain parts of animals.

8. Society
In the myth revering, Greek god praising society, the Pythagoreans believed that numbers controlled the universe, and the set of beliefs derived from this idea conflicted with the beliefs taken from the myths of the Ancient gods.
Example: The will of the gods are unpredictable, yet the Pythagoreans used numbers to give the universe the ability to be predicted.