How Did Numbers Get Their Shape

I received an east-mail service forward the other 24-hour interval, which contained a PowerPoint presentation giving the supposed origin of Arabic numerals. It claimed that when each number is written with merely directly lines, the number of angles created is the aforementioned as the quantity being represented. The text accompanying the presentation made the boosted claim that these numerals have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

That explanation is completely false. I won't get into detail on the origins of the numerals in this entry since there are already sources that cover this. There are several Wikipedia manufactures that overlap on this subject. The first 1 below is probably best for the history of the symbols. The second one has some skilful full general information. The third one has a adept picture of the first known utilise of Arabic numerals in Europe.

Hindu-Arabic Numeral System
Arabic Numerals
History of the Hindu-Arabic Numeral System

The unique feature of our numbering system, having each position represent a ability of x (as opposed to a system similar Roman numerals), adult some time between the first and sixth centuries. Virtually of the symbols in that early on system came from Brahmi numerals (which themselves came from earlier sources), but a few seem to have come up from other sources, such as Buddhist inscriptions. The symbol for zero is an exception, having been invented around the same fourth dimension equally the decimal numbering system. There'south some question to how those Brahmi symbols were adult and what they originally represented, merely it certainly wasn't for counting angles. One, two, and three are pretty easy, since, like Roman Numerals, they were just one, two, or 3 lines (even in Arabic numerals, one, two, and three all seem to take been originally related to simple counting - follow those links). The other symbols may accept come from their alphabet.

At any charge per unit, the symbols accept evolved quite a scrap over the centuries, going downward different paths in the different regions where they've been used. I've borrowed one of the images from Wikipedia and posted it below, a table compiled in 1757 showing various usages of numerals in European history (become to Wikipedia for a higher resolution image). Non only would we have a difficult time reading the numbers from other regions of the world today, we'd accept a hard time reading some of the primeval European uses.

Histoire de la Mathematique, 1757

Hither's the full due east-mail that I received, with the PowerPoint converted into a series of images. Scroll down for a flake more than commentary following this.

How numerals 0 - 9 got their shape - Interesting
Practice you know why numbers look like they do? Someone, at some point in time, had to create their shapes and significant.

Watch this short presentation and then you will know how our Arabic numbers were originally created a very long time ago and what logic the people that created them used to determine their shapes. It is really very simple and quite creative? You take to adore the intelligence of a person that created something so uncomplicated and perfect that it has lasted for thousands and thousands of years and will probably never change?

When the presentation gets to the number "vii" yous will notice that the 7 has a line through the middle of information technology. That was the way the Arabic 7 was originally written, and in Europe and certain other areas they however write the 7 that fashion. Also, in the armed forces, they commonly write it that way. The nine has a kind of curly tail on it that has been reduced, for the almost part nowadays, to a simple curve, merely the logic involved still applies.

I've already given sources showing that this explanation is faux, every bit are the claims in the accompanying text, just let'south have a chip of fun looking at the numbers.

First, look at the iv. That is how 4 is typed, but most people I know don't write it by manus in that way. Most write it as:

On the 5, notice the little additional line on the lower left to make the count come out to 5.

Who writes their 7s that fashion? I know many people put the line through it, but who puts the serifs on the lesser?

The nine takes the cake, though. Information technology really takes some stretching to imagine that the 'primitive' grade of 9 would look like that.

If there's ane matter that all our letters and numbers take in common, information technology's that they're relatively simply - just a few strokes to create each ane. That's the style you'd want it for an efficient handwriting arrangement. Information technology'southward really tough to imagine that 9 ever having been commonly used.

I suppose that one reason this e-mail continues to make the rounds is summed up in the second sentence of the first paragraph in that e-mail, "Someone, at some point in time, had to create their shapes and meaning." Many people similar to think that something as important as our numerals had to be deliberately invented, that it couldn't have come about by a haphazard process. But, that's the mode and so many things have been developed, especially in language.

The actual history of our numerals really is pretty interesting. It's a shame for the people who miss out on that by getting the simple folk etymology in this e-mail.