Mathematics of the Time

During the time period that Pierre de Fermat lived there were many developments occurring in mathematics. Fermat lived during the period of 1601-1665. Using a device designed after a toy, which became known as the telescope, Galileo developed the telescope. Since then, this device has become modified to see the universe in ways people of the time never thought possible. Using the telescope he was capable of observing orbits, specifically the moons of Jupiter as they traveled around the planet. However, the use of mathematics for astronomical reasons did not stop there. Tycho Brahe began gathering mathematical data regarding how the planets moved throughout the sky. Brahe during his calculations had an assistant named Johannes Kepler. Kepler began combining the mathematics behind logarithms with planetary motion to create mathematical laws regarding orbits. While these laws were being laid out through calculations, earlier mathematicians created a way of graphing the movement. René Descartes and his development of analytic geometry led to the plotting of orbits using Cartesian coordinates. Simon Stevin developed the foundation for our current decimal system so that all numbers in nature were "treated equally". This allowed all rational and irrational numbers to be described in a similar manner.

Other mathematicians were working on branches of math that would tie together many mathematical applications. Issac Newton began founding the laws of modern day physics which aided in the explanation of the mathematics that Johannes Kepler was working on. At this point, Issac Newton also began putting together many pieces of what became modern day Calculus. Applied mathematics became worked on more heavily along with the foundation of Probability Theory by Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal. Science and mathematics became a phenomenon all over the world and started exponential progress began occurring in the field.