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Discovery: Science Stories: Series 6: Hypatia: The Murdered Mathematician

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Death of Hypatia of Alexandria (c 370 CE - March 415 AD)

20/08/2018 GMT

Hypatia: The Murdered Mathematician

Science Stories: Series 6

BBC World Service - Discovery, Science Stories: Series 6, Hypatia: The Murdered MathematicianSearch BBC

Naomi Alderman on the life and death of Hypatia, the ancient Greek mathematician

Naomi Alderman's tale is the story of Hypatia, the mathematician murdered by a mob in Alexandria.

Naomi Alderman's tale is a murder mystery, the story of Hypatia, the mathematician murdered by a mob in the learned city of Alexandria, around the year 415 CE. Hypatia was a communicator of science, tackling difficult maths and teaching it to her students. This was incredibly important work. It was enough, at the time, to make her Alexandria’s pre-eminent mathematician, and probably therefore the leading mathematician in the world.
 
And there’s historical evidence that Hypatia made some discoveries and innovations of her own. She invented a new and more efficient method of long division. In a time before electronic calculators, the actual business of doing sums was an arduous part of engineering or astronomy, and any improvement in efficiency was very welcome.
 
All quite innocent science, so why did Hypatia end up being murdered by a mob? Natalie Haynes tells the inside story to Naomi Alderman. And Professor Edith Hall discusses Hypatia's legacy.

Picture: Death of Hypatia of Alexandria (c 370 CE - March 415 AD), Credit: 	Nastasic/Getty Images

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