I have bought a sample of Euclid Elements and I wonder which will be the best way to study it. I know that it's a great classic and I dont want to miss anything. I will appreciate your help.
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See R. Hartshorne, Teaching geometry according to Euclid, and Geometry: Euclid and beyond, a guided readng of Euclid's elements. – Bill Dubuque Feb 18 '15 at 19:31
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Don't forget while reading it that it was written in a time where people still believed that the solution to math problems depended on the movement of celestial bodies. – DanielV Feb 18 '15 at 20:17
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Euclid's Elements is still a good introduction to geometry. However, you can get the most out of it if you watch how Euclid uses his definitions during the proofs. You will have to find out which definitions are real and which of them are just references to human intuition. The best example is the definition of the straight line. When you will realize that this definition is never used in the book and that it does not even exist then you will tell that you have learned something about geometry.
zoli
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