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jun 19 Learn More Blaise Pascal Born


Mathematician, scientist, philosopher, and all-around genius Blaise Pascal was born on this day in 1623. At age 12, he started doing geometry behind his dad's back, which eventually led to Pascal's theorem, Pascal's triangle, and Pascal lines. But Pascal's propensity for having cool stuff named after him wasn't just limited to math. There's also Pascal's law, which describes what happens to a liquid under pressure, and Pascal's wager, which claims that, rationally, one has nothing to lose by believing in God. Basically, given Pascal's contributions to smart stuff, we're really lucky he wasn't named Blaise Fartsack.

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