Thomas Simpson and 'Newton's Method of Approximation': An Enduring Myth¶
Authors: Nick Kollerstrom
Published: 1992 (Journal Paper)
Source: The British Journal for the History of Science
DOI: 10.1017/s0007087400029150
Summary¶
Argues that the iterative root-finding method commonly known as "Newton's method" was invented and published by Thomas Simpson in 1740, not by Isaac Newton. Newton's 1669 manuscript De analysi contains a different, non-iterative procedure; the modern method's misattribution to Newton is traced as an "enduring myth" and a curious historical transposition.
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Tags¶
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History of mathematics
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Newton's method
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Thomas Simpson
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Root finding
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Attribution
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Numerical methods