What is Geometry?

(an introduction to modern geometry)

Kapil Hari Paranjape

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali

KVPY Summer Camp, 2nd June 2010

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What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?

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What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

KVPY Camp 2010

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Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?
What does a geometer do to earn his salary?

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?
What does a geometer do to earn his salary?

To give a satisfactory answer is difficult since:

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

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Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?
What does a geometer do to earn his salary?

To give a satisfactory answer is difficult since:

I

we must re-write modern geometry to make it easier to understand

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

KVPY Camp 2010

2 / 14

Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?
What does a geometer do to earn his salary?

To give a satisfactory answer is difficult since:

I

we must re-write modern geometry to make it easier to understand

we must provide better training in mathematics for the rest.

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

KVPY Camp 2010

2 / 14

Introduction

Difficult Questions
Is there geometry beyond high school geometry?
Didnt Euclid do all that there is to be done?
What does a geometer do to earn his salary?

To give a satisfactory answer is difficult since:

I

we must re-write modern geometry to make it easier to understand

we must provide better training in mathematics for the rest.

The rest is how mathematicians usually refer to non-mathematicians!

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What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Ruler and Protractor Placement

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Introduction

Ruler and Protractor Placement

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Introduction

Numbers and Geometry

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Introduction

Numbers and Geometry

Numbers are not imposed on geometry

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Introduction

Numbers and Geometry

Numbers are not imposed on geometry, rather they emerge from it.

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Introduction

Pictures and Geometry

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Introduction

Pictures and Geometry

We do not need pictures to understand geometry.

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Introduction

Pictures and Geometry

We do not need pictures to understand geometry.

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Introduction

Do you see it?

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Introduction

Do you see it?

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Introduction

Key Notions

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Introduction

Key Notions

Congruence: Figures can be moved around without

changing their shapes.

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Introduction

Key Notions

Congruence: Figures can be moved around without

changing their shapes.
Small Steps: A number of small segments combine to give
a segment bigger than a big segment.

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Introduction

Key Notions

Congruence: Figures can be moved around without

changing their shapes.
Small Steps: A number of small segments combine to give
a segment bigger than a big segment.
Divisibility: Given any segment we can chop it up into two
(or more) equal parts.

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Introduction

Arithmetic

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Introduction

Arithmetic

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Introduction

Euclids Fifth Postulate

Given a line and a point outside it, there is a unique line through that
point which does not meet the given line.

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Introduction

Euclids Fifth Postulate

Given a line and a point outside it, there is a unique line through that
point which is parallel to the given line.

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Introduction

Euclids Fifth Postulate

All coplanar lines meet!

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Introduction

Projectivise

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Introduction

Projectivise

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Projectivise

Kapil Paranjape (IISERM)

What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Projectivise

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What is Geometry?

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Introduction

Geometry on a Piece of paper

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Introduction

Non-Euclidean Fifth Postulate

Given a line and a point outside it, there are infinitely many lines through
that point which do not meet the given line.

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Introduction

Non-Euclidean Distance

log(|AP|/|AQ|) log(|OP|/|OQ|)

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Introduction

Thank you for your attention

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