Editing Archimedes (section)

=== Mechanical method === 
{{blockquote
|text=For it is more feasible, having already in one’s possession, through the method, of a knowledge of some sort of the matters under investigation, to provide the proof – rather than investigating it, knowing nothing.
|author=Archimedes
|title=''[[The Method of Mechanical Theorems]]''<ref>Netz, Noel, Tchernetska, Wilson. "Archimedes Palimpsest" p. 71</ref>
}}
In addition to developing on the works of earlier mathematicians with the method of exhaustion, Archimedes also pioneered a novel technique using the [[law of the lever]] in order to measure the area and volume of shapes using physical means. He first gives an outline of this proof in ''Quadrature of the Parabola'' alongside the geometric proof, but he gives a fuller explanation in ''[[The Method of Mechanical Theorems]]''.{{sfn|Netz|2022|p=139}} According to Archimedes, he proved the results in his mathematical treatises first using this method, and then worked backwards, applying the method of exhaustion only after he had already calculated an approximate value for the answer.{{sfn|Netz|2022|p=187}}