Definition

Proper noun: * Blaise Pascal: A 17th-century French mathematician, physicist, inventor, and philosopher. He made significant contributions to several fields, including the development of probability theory, the study of fluids and pressure, and the invention of an early mechanical calculator. He is also renowned for his philosophical and theological writings.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The unit of pressure, the pascal, is named after Blaise Pascal.
  • In his philosophical work Pensées, Blaise Pascal explored faith and reason.
  • The mathematical triangle often used in probability is called Pascal's Triangle, after Blaise Pascal.

Advanced Usage

• Pascal's Wager: A philosophical argument proposed by Blaise Pascal. It is a pragmatic argument for belief in God, suggesting that a rational person should live as though God exists because the potential benefits of belief (eternal reward) vastly outweigh the potential costs.
  • The professor explained Pascal's Wager as a famous example of decision theory in a philosophy class.

Variants and Related Words

• Pascal (n): The derived SI unit of pressure (symbol: Pa).
  • Atmospheric pressure is approximately 101,325 pascals.
• Pascalian (adj): Relating to or characteristic of Blaise Pascal or his works.
  • The essay analyzed the Pascalian themes of human fragility in modern literature.
• Pascal's Triangle (n): A triangular array of numbers where each number is the sum of the two numbers directly above it, with applications in algebra and probability.
  • The coefficients for the binomial expansion can be found using Pascal's Triangle.

Synonyms

• The Thinker of Port-Royal: A historical epithet referencing his association with the Jansenist community at Port-Royal-des-Champs.
• (The) Inventor of the Pascaline: Referring to his invention of one of the first mechanical calculators.

Related Phrases

• Pascal's law / Pascal's principle: A principle in fluid mechanics stating that pressure exerted anywhere in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted equally in all directions.
  • Hydraulic systems operate based on Pascal's law.

Noun

1. French mathematician and philosopher and Jansenist; invented an adding machine; contributed (with Fermat) to the theory of probability (1623-1662)