Esoteric origin of Fourier Transform?

Philosophy
#1

In US college engineering curriculum, Fourier Series is mostly taught as a tool for solving PDEs, and Fourier Transform signal processing. That means students are not expected to ask why they work or how did they came about.

The person named after this math machinery Jospeh Fourier was among Napoleon’s Egypt expedition entourage, serving military logistics. Fourier Series was proposed 10 years after the Egypt campaign. It would be hard not to speculate the influence or even inspiration that Egypt mythology had on its formulation.

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#2

Intriguing speculation… have anything specific in mind? If so, become a member because this is the kind of stuff we LOVE to discuss in vidchats!

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#3

There was a book published in 1921 by a gentleman named Professor Weston. Not his real name. Some speculate it was a pen name for WD Gann.

First modern use of Fourier Series for forecasting. He also says in the book that the origin of the techniques in the book were ancient Egypt. So that lends credence to your hypothesis that Fourier was gotten from Egypt.

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“Strictly, this method of forecasting is properly called the ‘geometrical cycle system,’ because the fundamental essential of it is a cycle having geometrical harmonic regularity. But we find that certain planets, to all appearance, actually cause the phenomena, and we therefore assume that the action is really due to planetary modifications of telluric influx reacting upon the brain substance in the human organism. This was known to the ancient Egyptians, but we of the present day use slightly different notation and process in handling the facts.”

#4

Wow … instantly remembered making this as kid. Cheaper than a Ouija board… Wonder did they have this in Egypt?

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#5

It’s not what you posted, it’s your passive commentary to the board.

Noted!

#6

I haven’t been able to find a coherent, let alone convincing narrative, as to Fourier’s motivation to develop the method of solving heat equation, which laid the foundation of using harmonic functions to analyze and synthesize just about any conceivable physical phenomena. One cannot overstate the profundity of such intuition.

Here are some facts for speculation:

  1. Despite not being a combatant, his life’s work was deeply intertwined with a military leader who modernized warfare with applied mathematics. Wherever Fourier’s interest was placed one could reasonably assume militaristic implication.or engineerable application.
  2. The incredible archaeological feat achieved by those French scholars under harsh diplomatic and administrative condition is a testament to their obsession with Egyptian antiquity.
  3. Returned to France 1801, Fourier lead the compilation of scholarly work as the result of Egyptian expedition. The beginning and fruition period of Fourier Series development fit seamlessly within that time frame. We can reasonably assume some form of strong resemblance between these two momumental intellectual tasks for them to be undertaken simultaneously.
  4. Fourier Series at its debut faced vehement resistance from contemporary mathematical giants Laplace and Lagrange. The “scandalous” reception is a mystery in and of itself, and then It took more than decades for the mathematical formalism to become adapted to its underlying assumptions, including the reconception of function and integration. It is a clear case of established utility forcing ad hoc rationalization, a.k.a. reverse engineering.