Basic Math may seem so simple these days, but there was a time when it was really horrible — like in ancient Roman times. Roman numerals for math were the worst!
Consider this:
V * V = XXV.
Or here are a few more to get you frustrated:
X * X = C.
II + III = V.
X * V = L.
Here’s where it gets tricky:
I – I = ?
There was no Roman numeral for zero.
With that kind of background, Roman numerals would prevent the ancient Romans from ever discovering Calculus, let alone doing the math that the Greeks invented (Eureka!).
This is where Arabic Numerals come into play — 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. But calling them Arabic Numerals is just wrong! Positional decimal notation including a zero symbol was developed in India, using symbols visually distinct from those that would eventually enter into international use. The immediate ancestors of the digits now commonly called “Arabic numerals” were introduced to Europe in the 10th century by Arabic speakers of Spain and North Africa, with digits at the time in wide use from Libya to Morocco. The oldest specimens of the written numerals available are from Egypt and date to 873–874 AD. They show three forms of the numeral “2” and two forms of the numeral “3”, and these variations indicate the divergence between what later became known as the Eastern Arabic numerals and the Western Arabic numerals.
The point here is the the Arabs ‘borrowed’ from India and stole credit for them. Ironically, there was an Arab scholar, Al-Ghazali, a Muslim imam, declared mathematics as “evil” in the 12th century. He criticized what he saw as the philosophical and logical excesses of Greek thought, which included mathematics, in his work “The Incoherence of the Philosophers”. His main concern with mathematics was that it could lead people to rely solely on logic and reason, potentially undermining the importance of faith and revelation. Up until that time, the Muslim Arabs were pretty advanced and reasonable, but this sort of put a crimp in that.
So consider the lowly zero. It has infinite uses. But one use it does not have is using it to divide any number. It’s either undefined or infinite… take your pick….
