Final answer:
One of Pythagoras' disciples is rumored to have met a tragic fate when he publicly spoke about the irrationality of the square root of 2.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of Pythagoras' disciples is rumored to have met a tragic fate when he publicly spoke about the fact that the square root of 2 is irrational. The Pythagoreans believed that all things could be explained through numbers, and the idea of an irrational number challenged this fundamental belief. It is said that the disciple met his demise as a punishment for revealing this secret outside of the Pythagorean community.