The ancestor of Western science: Who is Thales?

Thales, an Anatolian philosopher, lived in the pre-Socratic period. Since he was one of the first philosophers, he is called the pioneer of philosophy and science. He is the first of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece. Thales of Miletus was the first student of the Egyptian school of mathematics. He is a great mathematician and philosopher.

Thales was born in Miletus around 640. Rumor has it that he trained himself from Egyptian and Babylonian sources. In addition, he seems to be interested enough in business life to provide him with a decent living standard. In fact, Aristotle tells about it:

"Although it was still winter, Thales used his talents in Astronomy to predict that that year's olive harvest would be plentiful. He rented olive presses for a long time in Millet and Kinos. When the harvest season came many olive producers needed these crushers, so Thales returned them at a higher price. He rented it and earned a considerable amount of money. In the face of this situation, the people were convinced that the philosophers could become rich very easily if they wanted to."

Thales is thought to be the first to introduce the ancient Greeks to mathematics and the sciences related to astronomy. Ancient history tells how Thales calculated the height of the pyramids in Egypt by measuring the length of the shadows of the pyramids. Thales calculated the heights of the pyramids by measuring the length of the shadows of the pyramids when the height of a person was equal to the length of his own shadow, according to the position of the sun. He also revealed that geometry, an admirably logical discipline, is a deductive science. Although we do not know much about Thales' life and activities, we do know that he was the first scientist to whom some mathematical discoveries are attributed.

Theorems that Thales is thought to prove are:

- Diameter divides a circle into two equal parts.

- The base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal.

- The pair of vertical angles formed by two intersecting lines are equal.

- Two triangles whose two angles and one side of these angles are the same are congruent.

- The angle in a semicircle is perpendicular.

In addition, thanks to his work in astronomy, he caused the western civilization to advance in astronomy in a more scientific direction than the east. Thales' talent in astronomy astonished the Ionians. For example, he predicted the solar eclipse that took place on May 28, 585 (BC). He probably did this by calculations of the Egyptians and Babylonians. However, his thoughts about the world were not correct. In his thinking, the world was a hemisphere sitting in endless water. The Earth's surface was also a flat disk floating inside the flat part of this hemisphere. Thales is a scientist who made important contributions to the mathematical knowledge and material before him. Another four fundamental theorems of contemporary geometry are also attributed to Thales.

Thales proposed water as the first element (arkhe) of matter. He said that because it is the first element, the earth is above the water and the earth is carried by the water. (The earth was moving like a ship and people thought there was an earthquake when it shook due to the movement of the water.)

According to Herodotus and Eudemus, he calculate and predicted the solar eclipse (which is accepted to have taken place on May 28, 585 BC). He was the first astronomer to deal with astronomy and to calculate the solstices in advance. He named the last day of the month the 30th day. He also found the seasons in the year and divided a year into 365 days. He measured the pyramids by looking at their shadows, observing when our shadow was the same length as us. He also found that the rise of the Nile was dependent on the wind. (The Etesios winds blew against the river, preventing it from pouring into the sea, and the waters were also carrying it.)

According to Diogenes Laertius, he died of heat, thirst, and weakness while watching the competitions in a gymnasium.