I was amazed to learn about Heron’s formula for measuring the area of any triangle, irrespective of the angles, knowing only the length of each side. The method is very simple and can be done in minutes by any kid with a cheap calculator.

Here’s how it works:

1. So, if the side lengths are a, b and c, add them together (a+b+c) and divide this number by two to get s= (a+b+c)/2

2. Subtract each side length in turn from s to get (s-a), (s-b) and (s-c).

3. Calculate the product of s*(s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c) = p

4. The square root of p is the area of the triangle.

This guy Heron was able to prove the validity of this formula for ALL triangles about 2,000 years ago. That was before computers and calculators or even slide rules. Possibly, he didn’t even have paper and pencil to write with. This is truly amazing.

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