The evolution of Hindu-Arabic numeral system...

[Ajay0]

Namaste all,

A great article by HistoryExtra , on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and mathematics which originated in India, and its evolution down the centuries.

Hindu-Arabic Numerals: History & How They Revolutionised Mathematics | HistoryExtra

(HistoryExtra is the official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed. )

It is impossible today to imagine a world without what are known as Hindu-Arabic numerals. These nine symbols or digits (1 to 9) and zero (0) – crucially, together with the system of arranging them in place value – are at the very heart of so much of modern life. Without them there would be no computers and no space travel. Indeed, there would be precious little science, technology or medicine of any kind, to say nothing of mathematics itself.

Try to add LIX to VII and you’ll quickly understand why maths would not have evolved far with the Roman numeric system.

~ Violet Moller (historian, writer)