Black Girl Magic: Teens Who Found New Proof for Pythagoras’s Theorem Uncover Even More Solutions

In a dope showcase of Black girl magic, two teens, Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson, are shaking things up in the math world once again.

Two years ago, they made headlines by creating a trigonometric proof of the Pythagorean theorem—a milestone thought impossible for over 2,000 years.

Now, they’re back with nine more groundbreaking proofs.

For centuries, mathematicians believed that the Pythagorean theorem could only be solved using traditional methods. This ancient rule states that in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides equals the square of the longest side, known as the hypotenuse.

However, Jackson and Johnson used a trigonometric rule called the Law of Sines to prove that it could be done differently.

Their work was peer-reviewed and confirmed, proving what many thought couldn’t be done.

Jackson is currently studying pharmacology at Xavier University of Louisiana, while Johnson is pursuing environmental engineering at Louisiana State University.

Their accomplishments not only highlight their brilliance but also inspire young Black girls everywhere to embrace STEM fields and break boundaries.