Editing Experimental mathematics (section)

==History==
Mathematicians have always practiced experimental mathematics. Existing records of early mathematics, such as [[Babylonian mathematics]], typically consist of lists of numerical examples illustrating algebraic identities. However, modern mathematics, beginning in the 17th century, developed a tradition of publishing results in a final, formal and abstract presentation. The numerical examples that may have led a mathematician to originally formulate a general theorem were not published, and were generally forgotten.

Experimental mathematics as a separate area of study re-emerged in the twentieth century, when the invention of the electronic computer vastly increased the range of feasible calculations, with a speed and precision far greater than anything available to previous generations of mathematicians. A significant milestone and achievement of experimental mathematics was the discovery in 1995 of the [[Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe formula]] for the binary digits of [[Pi|π]]. This formula was discovered not by formal reasoning, but instead
by numerical searches on a computer; only afterwards was a rigorous [[Mathematical proof|proof]] found.<ref>[http://crd.lbl.gov/~dhbailey/dhbpapers/pi-quest.pdf The Quest for Pi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044106/http://crd.lbl.gov/~dhbailey/dhbpapers/pi-quest.pdf |date=2011-09-27 }} by [[David H. Bailey (mathematician)|David H. Bailey]], [[Jonathan Borwein|Jonathan M. Borwein]], [[Peter Borwein|Peter B. Borwein]] and [[Simon Plouffe]].</ref>