Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More Where Did Mathematical Symbols Come From?
May 29, 2021
Discover how mathematical symbols revolutionized the way we understand equations. Journey through history, from ancient civilizations like the Babylonians doing complex math symbol-free, to the crucial contributions of Arab scholars. Explore the transformation of key symbols like the equal sign and the infinity symbol, and see how they simplify our calculations today. Learn how the evolution of these symbols mirrors the rise of technology and even modern emojis. It's a fascinating look at the language of mathematics!
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Ancient Math Without Symbols
- Ancient Babylonians and Sumerians did complex math without symbols, using base 60 system.
- They lacked zero and symbolic algebra, making their math very different from modern notation.
Origins of Plus and Minus Signs
- The plus sign originated in 1489 as an abbreviation of the Latin word "et" meaning "and."
- The minus sign derived from a tilde used over numbers to indicate subtraction.
Multiplication Symbol Evolution
- The multiplication symbol "×" was first used in 1618 by John Napier and is similar to the letter X but raised and smaller in print.
- This choice causes confusion, so alternatives like the dot or asterisk are also used.