From: Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 15:07:38 +0800
To: cypherpunks@ssz.com (Cypherpunks Distributed Remailer)
Subject: Re: rant on the morality of confidentiality (fwd)
Message-ID: <199801090731.BAA07695@einstein.ssz.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text



Forwarded message:

> Subject: Re: rant on the morality of confidentiality (fwd)
> From: dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM)
> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 98 23:45:25 EST
> 
> Janos Bolyai was the son of the math professor Farkas B. in Buda(best).

Who also worked with Gauss and probably beat Gauss to any solution to the
problem of non-euclidean geometry (see Kurzer Grundriss eines Versuchs, 
p. 46).

> In 1832 he published his findings as an appendix
> to his father's textbook.

Actualy his father published it as an afterthought to get him to quit
working on Euclids Parallels. It was published in Tomus Secundus (1833,
pp. 265 - 322) written by his father.

> arises if you omit this axiom. According to my sources, the appendix
> is "Wronski-like" to the point of unreadability. Apparently no one
> actually read it until B. started arguing about who did what first.

Both John Bolyai's "The Science of Absolute Space" and Nicholas
Lobachevski's "The Theory of Parallels" are included in Roberto Bonola's
"Non-euclidean Geometry" (Dover, ISBN 0-486-60027-0 $5.50). I certainly had
no problem reading the 3 combined books.

I was just looking at the translators notes to Lobachevski, it was done
by George Bruce Halsted of 2407 San Marcos St, Austin, Tx. May 1, 1891.

> well accepted by his peers. Neither Bolyai nor Lobachevsky knew about
> Gauss's work.

Not true, Bolyai wrote him several letters as described in his book and the
various prefaces. Lobachevski's book was promoted by Gauss as the first and
truely critical work on non-euclidean geometry. In a rare show of magnamity
Gauss even admits that Lobachevski's work exceeded his own.

> I have no idea what Bonola wrote, but if he's just repeating the allegations
> Bolyai made about Gauss while suffering from depression and paranoia, they
> have no more truth in them than the Timmy May rants on this mailing list.

He wrote a classic work on non-euclidean geometry that was quite popular in
1912 when it was printed.


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