The Science Absolute of Space

Bolyai, John

For millennia Euclid's Elements was the cornerstone of mathematics. It was completely logical, building a system of complex truths out of set of observable postulates. It was irrefutable. But throughout its history there was one glaring aberration: the parallel postulate.

Called by many different names, sometimes a Common Notion, sometimes an axiom, this claim is impossible to prove based on Euclid's previous axioms and proofs. The problem plagued mathematicians until the quiet emergence of genius geometer, Hungarian mathematician JANOS BOLYAI (1802-1860), who had mastered calculus by age 13, had invented non-Euclidean geometry by 20, and had developed a completely new mathematical system by 23.

Rather than find a proof for the parallel postulate, Bolyai invented a universe of geometry in which it became entirely unnecessary: hyperbolic geometry. Written as an appendix for a book by father, mathematician Farkas Bolyai, this short work is a math textbook written for those with a deep interest in and understanding of geometry.

It is considered a landmark work in the history of human thought and necessary reading for anyone wishing to understand higher orders of geometric math.