Xenocrates of Chalcedon biography at QuotationFun

A Short Biography of Xenocrates of Chalcedon

Author Name:

Xenocrates of Chalcedon

Born As:

Other Names:

Xenocrates of Chalcedon

Born:

396

Died:

314




author picture
Philosopher and Mathematician                          
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocrates_of_Chalcedon                          
                          
Plutarch writes that Xenocrates once attempted to find the total number of syllables that could be made from the letters of the alphabet. According to Plutarch, Xenocrates result was 1,002,000,000,000. This possibly represents the first instance that a combinatorial problem involving permutations was attempted.                          
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocrates_of_Chalcedon

Pupil of Aeschines Socraticus, then Plato.