Talk:Blaise Pascal

images

There are too many images, and it's making this page crowded. I say we remove the stamp image, and develop a caption for the statue image. -- Removed this passage: "Following an accident in 1654 at the Neuilly bridge where the horses plunged over the parapet but the carriage miraculously survived, Pascal abandoned mathematics and physics for philosophy and theology." Source? Pascal's turn toward religion is commonly attributed to his mystical experience of Nov. 23, 1654. Mark K. Jensen 09:47, Jan 25, 2005 (UTC)

Found a source placing the accident in question 15 days before Pascal's mystical experience. [1] Mark K. Jensen 01:25, Jan 26, 2005 (UTC)

Article Direction

When searching for Pascal I was brought to an article about the Pascal physics unit. It seems obvious that the biography of a man should come before an article about a connotation in the mans honor, so I think it should direct here first.

Semi-protected edit request on 29 November 2019

• this page should be unprotected -- there is no reason for it to be protected for >10yrs. either wikip is open, or it isnt — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:4B00:89AA:CA00:680B:8D6C:3328:A26C (talk) 19:46, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Request: Pascal had three sibling(s) not two. He had Older sibling and she died when she was child. Her name remains unknown. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=qpmGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=pascal+is+third+child&source=bl&ots=FnMn72jFMx&sig=ACfU3U1xOKpGvBj6jDd3jo5DN-IHjYCprQ&hl=id&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-gtXSiJHmAhUKbn0KHfu8DBMQ6AEwGnoECAkQAQ I'm not sure and I'm a little bit skeptical with some sources. More: http://famous-mathematicians.org/blaise-pascal/ https://prezi.com/fmw68lwidhds/blaise-pascal/ http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~greg/calculators/pascal/About_Pascal.htmMathemaphilosophie (talk) 21:10, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. – Frood (talk) 02:18, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

I am not a regular contributor to Wikipedia but I do know a thing or two about Pascal. The older sister's name was Antonia, or sometimes spelled Anthonia. There are literally hundreds of references to her all over the internet, including here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3241/blaise-pascal

There is also a reference to it in Pascal's biography, "Pascal's Wager" by James A. Connor, 2006 (Harper Collins). Looking at the reference "reliable sources" shown above gave me little to no understanding as to why the original reference was inadequate. 98.53.149.206 (talk) 22:01, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Also I'm not the original person who made the comment - just another passer-by who noticed the same error as the original poster did. 98.53.149.206 (talk) 22:02, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Well, unfortunately I forgot my account password so I can't delete it but I will be back in a few days to provide some sources. Also I'm very embarassed to share some shady and unreliable sources few years ago. Quantumaniacal (talk) 23:31, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

Was Pascal gay?

In Bit by Bit: An Illustrated History of Computers, Stan Augarten writes: “To a large degree, Blaise's extreme religiosity was fuelled by agonizingly poor health and a pent-up sexuality—he apparently was a homosexual.” (p. 23)

I’m not finding anything about his sexuality anywhere online (except for a copy of the above line, used verbatim without attributing it to Augarten) and Augarten doesn’t give a source for the claim that Pascal was gay.

Anyone have any more information?

Or, more generally, any more info about Pascal’s personal life? I feel like whether or not he was gay, more info about him as a person would be a useful addition to this article. Elysdir (talk) 18:00, 14 October 2023 (UTC)

I delved into this matter and, it’s suffice to say that, there’s no evidence capable of corroborating that Pascal was “gay”. Thus, I’m exceptionally intrigued to scrutinize where Augarten procured the notion that Pascal was “gay”, is it because he was single? Pascal was always interconnected with his sisters and cared deeply for Mademoiselle de Roanez (you can find her on the French Wikipedia). Raulois (talk) 21:07, 14 October 2023 (UTC)

Here's a link to the book, if anyone would like to read the excerpt in context. It was written by Stan Augarten; note it a similar sentence has been reprinted on this university website. BhamBoi (talk) 01:57, 17 February 2024 (UTC)

Cite error

A cite error is mentioned in the text. Possibly, someone can rectify this. 2A00:23CC:B5B1:2901:A9B7:F2AD:7F88:9387 (talk) 15:00, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 September 2024

Change "a fideistic probabilistic argument for why one should believe in God." to "A probabilistic argument for why one should want to believe in God."

Describing Pascal's argument as fideistic misrepresents the argument. His is a practical argument. 206.244.103.241 (talk) 20:44, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made.PianoDan (talk) 21:00, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

Cryptic sentence

During visits to his sister at Port-Royal in 1654, he displayed contempt for affairs of the world but was not drawn to God This reads like something someone from 1654 might write. I expect it works in the context of the given source, but it doesn't express anything, and the God bit is a non-sequitur. I recognise it's setting up the next paragraph in the same year; it just doesn't have a meaning. Outside of an established religious context, "drawn to God" is too abstract a reference. 2.97.111.236 (talk) 22:24, 1 October 2024 (UTC)