It is said that "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." This is true in the case of Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Born to a skilled mathematician (Etienne Pascal) , Blaise was considered a child prodigy. He was schooled by his father and attended many meetings with him. By the age of 18, Blaise had invented a calculator to help his father with his job as a tax collector. He has significantly contributed to the areas of geometry, physics, and computer science. Some of Pascal's most influential work was connected to probability. This work in probability spilled over into his religious philosophical work. In fact, it is documented that he made the following statement known as Pascal's Wager: "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." Pascal studied the work of Euclid, corresponded with Fermat, and has influenced the work of countless other mathematicians including Newton and Leibniz.
Pascal has even influenced current day mathematicians. In 2010, three middle school students are credited in discovering yet another application of Pascal's Triangle, dubbed The Rascal Triangle.
Sources:
Blaise Pascal. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 04:13, Jun 16, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/blaise-pascal-9434176.
Hájek, A. (1998, May 2). Pascal's Wager. Stanford University. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
The Rascal Triangle. (n.d.). Homepage. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/college-mathematics-journal/rascal-triangle
Blaise Pascal. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 04:13, Jun 16, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/blaise-pascal-9434176.
Hájek, A. (1998, May 2). Pascal's Wager. Stanford University. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
The Rascal Triangle. (n.d.). Homepage. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/college-mathematics-journal/rascal-triangle