• Some proofs of the Pythagorean theorem involve extending triangles and

re-arranging the shapes. While useful to understand the case of triangles,

such demonstrations don’t easily let you deduce that the Pythagorean
theorem really works on any shape, and involves the growth of area.
Each proof or demonstration of a result usually has a perspective – see
other explanations to broaden yours.
• Don’t forget the Pythagorean theorem works both ways – if you have
sticks of length 3", 4" and 5", you can make a perfect right angle for your
home construction projects.

Chapter 3: Pythagorean Distance

• The "Pythagorean" way of finding distance is just one way. In a grid
system, there is the idea of "Manhattan Distance" – i.e., how long it would
take a taxicab (not a crow) to get from A to B. Can you find a simple
formula to express the Manhattan distance between (a,b) and (c,d)?
• The fact that 3d distance can be computed by a series of 2d triangles is
surprising. Here’s one insight – no triangle "knows" it is in the 3rd dimen-
sion. As far as each can tell, it’s just a regular triangle reaching a new
point. It just so happens that one of its sides links up to another trian-
gle which is folded in a funky way (into a new dimension). Measuring
distance in 10 dimensions would still just require us to use 2d triangles.
Math has many primitive building blocks that are so widely applicable –
don’t see the Pythagorean theorem as just a way to relate the sides of a
triangle.

Chapter 4: Radians and Degrees

• Degrees are a great example of our bias of only considering our own
perspective. Another example: in math class, 0 degrees means straight
out on the x-axis, but in navigation 0 degrees means due North. Why?
One reason – in math class, the x-axis represents the "horizon" and the
degrees measure something spinning around us. In navigation, 0 degrees
represents our own orientation. Both cases are really about what happens
to the observer.
• It may seem strange to not have a "whole" number of radians in a full turn
of a circle. However, it’s because there isn’t a whole amount of distance
in a full turn of a circle! The weird, "unround" numbers we get when
dealing with radians are a result of the fact that traveling all the way
around a circular, 1-mile track takes you 3.14159.... miles!

Chapter 5: Imaginary Numbers

• Understanding a current system by looking at what came before it is ex-
tremely powerful. For example, Calculus was originally developed using