Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal was a French philosopher, mathematician and physicist. Born in Clermont-Ferrand, France in 1623, Pascal was educated by his father. Pascal often accompanied his father to meetings held by a monk named Mersenne. These meetings were similar to a think tank in which philosophical ideas and theorems were shared and debated. It was at one of these meetings that Pascal’s ‘Mystic Hexagon’ was introduced. In an effort to assist his father, who had been appointed a position as tax collector in Upper Normandy, Pascal invented a digital calculator in 1642. A major problem with the invention of this calculator was the division of currency used in France at the time. The currency design forced Pascal to compute values based on 240 rather than the much simpler 100 that we currently use in the United States today. Although a revolutionary piece of machinery, by 1652 very few machines had actually been built and production ceased on the calculator altogether. These machines, although unsuccessful, set the precedent for computer engineering. Pascal’s work in this early field of computer engineering was recognized in 1970 when Niklaus Wirth published a programming language entitled ‘Pascal’. Pascal made many other contributions to the field of mathematics. His word with binomial coefficients, later called ‘Pascal’s Triangle’ demonstrated basic mathematical principles using recursion. In a precursor to the field of probabilities, Pascal developed ‘Pascal’s Wager’ in which he addressed the idea of how one should live their life with respect to the existence of God. Pascal supported his idea with the reasoning: ‘If God does not exist, one will lose nothing by believing in Him, while if He does exist, one will lose everything by not believing’ (O’Connor & Robertson). Pascal also made a number of discoveries in the study of hydrostatics and hydrodynamics. His work with the idea of vacuums made apparent the value of barometers and provided the basis for his invention of the syringe and of the hydraulic

press. This work also brought him into conflict with many prominent scientists who at the time were working under the established ideas of Aristotle, that ‘everything in motion must be moved by something’ (Aristotle). Pascal’s revolutionary work in the field of pressures is evident by the unit of pressure measurement that carries his name. In his later life, Pascal had a religious conversion and gave up the mathematical studies that were a large part of his early life. He began to write books addressing unscrupulous practices of different religions and cataloguing the ideals of others. One of his most famous writings was entitled ‘Pensees’. It was discovered posthumously and his writings and ideas contained in the work were thought to be the basis of ‘Pascal’s Wager’. One of his last contributions to the world was a transit, similar to a modern bus line that moved passengers via carriages to and from Paris. In 1662, Pascal passed away from what the autopsy would reveal as complications from tuberculosis or stomach cancer.