Abstract
The Pythagoreans were interested in perfect numbers, that is, numbers, such as 6 and 28, that equal the sum of their proper divisors. If s(n) denotes the sum of all the divisors of a positive integer n, including n itself, then n is perfect if and only if s(n) = 2n.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Anglin, W.S. (1994). The Pythagoreans and Perfection. In: Mathematics: A Concise History and Philosophy. Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0875-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0875-4_5
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6930-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-0875-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive