Small format, serious subject matter. This portrait magnet brings one of history's most versatile scientific minds into your everyday spaces - a daily reminder that the people who shaped civilization are worth remembering.
This Pascal magnet features a bold, graphic portrait, part of the Architects of Reason collection. A distinctive gift for science lovers, philosophy enthusiasts, and educators. Available in three sizes.
ABOUT BLAISE PASCAL (1623–1662)
Pascal was a mathematical prodigy who had mastered Euclid's first thirty-two propositions by the age of twelve - without being taught them. By sixteen he had written a treatise on conic sections that Descartes refused to believe was the work of a teenager. By nineteen he had built a functional mechanical calculator to help his father with tax computations. He was just getting started.
His contributions to mathematics and physics were transformative. Working with Pierre de Fermat, he laid the foundations of probability theory in a series of letters that began as a discussion of gambling problems and ended by creating an entirely new branch of mathematics. His work on fluid mechanics produced Pascal's Law - the principle governing hydraulic systems that still bears his name. His experiments with atmospheric pressure helped establish the existence of the vacuum, overturning centuries of received wisdom.
Then, in 1654, he had a religious experience so intense he sewed a record of it into the lining of his coat and wore it for the rest of his life. He turned increasingly toward theology, producing the Pensées - a collection of fragments intended as a defense of Christianity that remained unfinished at his death and became one of the most read works of French literature.
He died at thirty-nine. The range of what he accomplished in that time remains almost impossible to account for.
PRODUCT FEATURES
- Available in three sizes: 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5 inches
- Matte finish for a sophisticated, glare-free surface
- Laminated surface for durability and color vibrancy
- White vinyl with strong magnetic backing
- Indoor use recommended