mathematics

Pierre Hérigone

Pierre Hérigone is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pierre Hérigone rather than just read about it. In short: Pierre Hérigone (Latinized as Petrus Herigonius) (1580–1643) was a French mathematician and astronomer. Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life.

Key takeaways

Pierre Hérigone belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pierre Hérigone to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pierre Hérigone from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pierre Hérigone (Latinized as Petrus Herigonius) (1580–1643) was a French mathematician and astronomer. Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life.

Works Only one work by Hérigone is known to exist: Cursus mathematicus, nova, brevi, et clara methodo demonstratus, per notas reales et universales, citra usum cujuscunque idiomatis intellectu faciles (published in Paris in six volumes from 1634 to 1637; second edition 1644), a compendium of elementary mathematics written in French and Latin. The work introduced a system of mathematical and logical notation. It has been said that "Hérigone introduced so many new symbols in this six-volume work that some suggest that the introduction of these symbols, rather than an effective mathematics text, was his goal." Florian Cajori has written that the work contains "a full recognition of the importance of notation and an almost reckless eagerness to introduce an exhaustive set of symbols..." Hérigone may have been the first to introduce the mathematical symbol to express an angle. He used both the symbol below and recorded the use of "<" as a symbol denoting "less than."

He also introduced the upside-down "T" symbol (⊥) to express perpendicularity. In regards to the notation for exponents, Herigone wrote a, a2, a3, etc. (though the numerals were not raised, however, as they are today).

. Hérigone also created a number alphabet for remembering long numbers in which phonemes were assigned to different numbers, while the vowels were supplied by the memorizer: 1 (t, d), 2 (n), 3 (m), 4 (r), 5 (l), 6 (j, ch, sh), 7 (c, k, g), 8 (f, v, ph), 9 (p, b), 10 (z, s).

In Hérigone's work, we find the earliest written examples of mathematical terms. Parallelipipedon, an archaic form of parallelepiped, appears in an English work dated 1570. Hérigone himself used the spelling parallelepipedum.

Hérigone and the camera obscura In the Cursus mathematicus, Hérigone describes a camera obscura in the form of a goblet (Chapter 6, page 113). Hérigone did not depict his goblet, but Johann Zahn would illustrate the design in his Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium (1685). Hérigone's goblet-camera obscura, more a novelty than anything else, was constructed in such a way that you could spy on others while taking a drink. The device's 45-degree angle mirror had a stylized opening for the lens. The goblet had a cup made of glass where images could be seen. The lid bore a magnifying lens at the top.[1] The lens and mirror of this dinner table device for spying was situated at the base of the goblet's stem and served to project a real-time image onto the ground glass screen in the cup of the goblet.

Committee work Hérigone served on a number of scientific committees, including one set up to determine whether Jean-Baptiste Morin's scheme for determining longitude from the Moon's motion was practical. Members of this committee included Étienne Pascal and Claude Mydorge. He died in Paris. The crater Herigonius on the Moon is named after him.

Notes

Sources Biography of Pierre Herigone The History of the Discovery of Cinematography Mathematical symbols Universal Language Earliest Uses of Symbols of Operation and Grouping

Illustrations

Pierre Hérigone: The symbol denoting perpendicularity — The symbol denoting perpendicularity

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pierre Hérigone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pierre Hérigone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pierre Hérigone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pierre Hérigone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pierre Hérigone

In research: Pierre Hérigone appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pierre Hérigone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pierre Hérigone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1580 births, 1643 deaths, 17th-century French astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pierre Hérigone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pierre Hérigone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pierre Hérigone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pierre Hérigone out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pierre Hérigone in simple terms?

Pierre Hérigone (Latinized as Petrus Herigonius) (1580–1643) was a French mathematician and astronomer. Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life.

Why does Pierre Hérigone matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pierre Hérigone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pierre Hérigone.