Antoine Gombaud
Encyclopedia
Antoine Gombaud, Chevalier de Méré was a French
writer, born at Poitou
in 1607, and died on December 29, 1684. Although he was not a nobleman, he adopted the title Chevalier (Knight) for the character in his dialogues who represented his own views (Chevalier de Méré because he was educated at Méré ). Later his friends began calling him by that name.
Méré was an important Salon
theorist. Like many 17th century liberal thinkers, he distrusted both hereditary power and democracy. He believed that questions are best resolved in open discussions among witty, fashionable, intelligent people.
Méré's most famous essays are L'honnête homme (The Honest Man) and Discours de la vraie honnêteté (Discourse on True Honesty), but he is far better known for his contribution to probability theory. He was an amateur mathematician who became interested in a problem that dates to medieval times, if not earlier, the problem of the points
. Suppose two players agree to play a certain number of games, say a best of seven series, and are interrupted before they can finish. How should the stake be divided among them if, say, one has won three games and the other has won one?
In keeping with his Salon methods, Méré enlisted the Mersenne
salon to solve it. Two famous mathematicians, Blaise Pascal
and Pierre de Fermat
, took up the challenge. In a series of letters they laid the foundation for the modern theory of probability.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
writer, born at Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
in 1607, and died on December 29, 1684. Although he was not a nobleman, he adopted the title Chevalier (Knight) for the character in his dialogues who represented his own views (Chevalier de Méré because he was educated at Méré ). Later his friends began calling him by that name.
Méré was an important Salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
theorist. Like many 17th century liberal thinkers, he distrusted both hereditary power and democracy. He believed that questions are best resolved in open discussions among witty, fashionable, intelligent people.
Méré's most famous essays are L'honnête homme (The Honest Man) and Discours de la vraie honnêteté (Discourse on True Honesty), but he is far better known for his contribution to probability theory. He was an amateur mathematician who became interested in a problem that dates to medieval times, if not earlier, the problem of the points
Problem of points
The problem of points, also called the problem of division of the stakes, is a classical problem in probability theory. One of the famous problems that motivated the beginnings of modern probability theory in the 17th century, it led Blaise Pascal to the first explicit reasoning about what today is...
. Suppose two players agree to play a certain number of games, say a best of seven series, and are interrupted before they can finish. How should the stake be divided among them if, say, one has won three games and the other has won one?
In keeping with his Salon methods, Méré enlisted the Mersenne
Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics"...
salon to solve it. Two famous mathematicians, Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
and Pierre de Fermat
Pierre de Fermat
Pierre de Fermat was a French lawyer at the Parlement of Toulouse, France, and an amateur mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his adequality...
, took up the challenge. In a series of letters they laid the foundation for the modern theory of probability.