History

=Geometry: Historical Roots=

David Hilbert, a German mathematician, came up with many axioms of Euclidian geometry, like the parallel postulate. Janos Bolyai attempted to replace the parallel postulate, but ended up discovering hyperbolic geometry. And of course, there was Legendre, who attempted to prove the parallel postulate for over 30 years, and created the first widely-used elementary textbooks on Euclidian geometry. He refused to believe that Bolyai had discovered non-Euclidian geometry, believing that Euclidian geometry was the only certainty.

Another form of non-Euclidian geometry is projective geometry, based on transformations of lines and shapes by projecting them onto other surfaces.

Geometry has played an important role in the planning and construction of religious structures. In sacred geometry, symbolic and sacred meanings are assigned to different geometric shapes and proportions. Geometry can even be applied to modern art, like in the works of M.C. Escher.