Discussion lead by Colin Chiarodo, Michael Goldsmith and Cameron McVey

• One of the main points discussed was the interference between science and religion
• Pythagora's contribution to math and science was huge -- and at the same time numbers were given divine, ethical and moral characteristics
• Pythagora formed a community of disciples that had many of the characteristics of a sect
• We discussed the comparison between Pythagora's and Jesus' lives, and different opinions emerged.
• There seems to emerge an apparent contradiction between his allowing women in his community and the representation of women with even numbers that were considered to be evil
• While it is true that women were integrated in Pythagora's community, it is also most likely that they were akousmatics , some sort of "assistants" to the real "mathematical men", the mathematikoi
• The Greeks turn their backs on Pythagora's mathematically based philosophy, and embraced Aristoteles.
• Aristoteles was more in tune with what the Greek society wanted from science, and with what they wanted science to explain
• Pythagora's view is revisited in modern Europe. Why?
• What about Hypatia? She was the only "famous" woman mathematician for centuries: explain the phenomenon!