Doubling the cube: A new interpretation of its significance for early Greek geometry (Q1899000)

The author had shown earlier [Hist. Sci. 31, 25-59 (1986; Zbl 0631.01003)] that Greek mathematicians did not avail themselves of the simplifications brought to proofs and constructions by the use of definitions that characterize complicated constructions, but rather seem to refer to the entire construction every time it is used. In the current paper, he describes the same situation of duplicate ratio, i.e., the fact that \(a: b= b:c\) implies \(a: c= (a: b)^2\). The problem here is the relation of Euclid VI.20 to its corollary, which is a restatement of the proposition without reference to the notion of duplicate ratio. Subsequent proofs, mainly for VI.25, use the corollary, not the theorem itself. The author therefore considers the corollary the original result, with the notion of duplicate ratio being a later cosmetic embellishment without influence on mathematical thought. [\textit{C. Thaer}, Euklid. Die Elemente. Herausgeben und ins Deutsche übersetzt von Clemens Thaer, Ostwald's Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften Nr. 236 (Buch IV--VI), Leipzig (1933; Zbl 0007.04904) considers the corollary as a post-Euclid pre- Theon interpolation to make the proof of VI.25 intelligible to the average reader. The last word on the problem still has to be formulated].