person1623–1662

Blaise Pascal

Disciplines:

Summary

French mathematician, physicist, and Christian philosopher — who created probability theory (with Fermat), invented the first mechanical calculator, discovered the principles of hydraulics, and wrote the Pensées — the most wide-ranging genius of 17th century France.

Core Contribution

Creates probability theory and Pascal's Wager — Pascal and Fermat's correspondence created the mathematical theory of probability; Pascal's Wager (it is rational to believe in God because if God exists and you believe, you gain infinity; if God doesn't exist, you lose little) is the most famous and most debated argument for religious faith in the Western tradition.

Key Spikes & Highlights

Sewed the Memorial into his coat — after a 2-hour mystical experience on November 23, 1654, he wrote a record of the experience and sewed it into the lining of his coat, where it was found after his death; he apparently transferred it to each new coat as he wore them; the most important private document in French religious history was carried close to his body for 8 years
Invented the Pascaline at 18 to help his father (a tax collector) with calculations — and spent years and significant money trying to commercialize it, failing because hand calculation was cheaper; his frustration with the machine (which worked but couldn't be sold) is the first documented case of a technology being economically superior to its alternatives but commercially unviable

Notable Works & Achievements

Provincial Letters

Pensées

Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle

Historical Influences

Descartes Mersenne Jansenism

Intellectual Lineage

Clermont-Ferrand Paris Port-Royal Jansenists Reclusion

Contemporaries & Peers

René Descartes Pierre de Fermat Christiaan Huygens

Minds Influenced

Probability theory Philosophy of religion

Intellectual Posterity

Probability theory Pascaline Pascal's Wager Pascal's Triangle Pensées Pascal's Law

Discussing

Blaise Pascal

Ask anything about Blaise Pascal — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

person1623–1662

Blaise Pascal

Disciplines:

Summary

Core Contribution

Key Spikes & Highlights

Sewed the Memorial into his coat — after a 2-hour mystical experience on November 23, 1654, he wrote a record of the experience and sewed it into the lining of his coat, where it was found after his death; he apparently transferred it to each new coat as he wore them; the most important private document in French religious history was carried close to his body for 8 years
Invented the Pascaline at 18 to help his father (a tax collector) with calculations — and spent years and significant money trying to commercialize it, failing because hand calculation was cheaper; his frustration with the machine (which worked but couldn't be sold) is the first documented case of a technology being economically superior to its alternatives but commercially unviable

Notable Works & Achievements

Provincial Letters

Pensées

Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle

Historical Influences

Descartes Mersenne Jansenism

Intellectual Lineage

Clermont-Ferrand Paris Port-Royal Jansenists Reclusion

Contemporaries & Peers

René Descartes Pierre de Fermat Christiaan Huygens

Minds Influenced

Probability theory Philosophy of religion

Intellectual Posterity

Probability theory Pascaline Pascal's Wager Pascal's Triangle Pensées Pascal's Law

Discussing

Blaise Pascal

Ask anything about Blaise Pascal — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.