Roman numerals adopted instead of Arabic

what if we did not have the Arabic numerals (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0) but instead europe and eventually the rest of the world adopted Roman numerals (I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,IIX,IX,X)

Roman numerals are far inferior to the aribic numerals

because of the lack of decimals, zero, and negative numbers.
 
what if we did not have the Arabic numerals (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0) but instead europe and eventually the rest of the world adopted Roman numerals (I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,IIX,IX,X)

Roman numerals are far inferior to the aribic numerals

because of the lack of decimals, zero, and negative numbers.

For one thing, you cannot jot down calculations on the back of an envelope ITTL- you need an abacus, which I supoe everyone will be carrying. Although having said that, a lot of mathematics might not take oof to the extent it has and much of modern society may be affected (then the Greeks managed...)
 
Then we eventually replace them with something else. We did use Roman Numerals back pre-1250 or so, but switched over pretty much the instant an alternative became available. Roman Numerals just suck.
 
that would result in intrestin money.
"so your total is $53.77"
"so that's..... five X dollars, three I dollars, um....three XXV cents, and two I cents."
 
Remember that the "Arabic numerals" were in fact originally "Hindi numerals" from India. The Arabs adopted them from India, because they made math so much easier. The Europeans came into contact with the Arabs during the crusades, and learned about Arabic numerals. So one question I have is, what will you do to make this all not happen in your TL. No crusades?

In the 13th century mathematicians like Fibonacci were the first to advocate the use of Arabic numerals. The practice very slowly spread to other Europeans (I get the impression Shakespeare, for example, still used Roman numerals).

I think I have to agree with the folks who say if we didn't have them we would need to invent something similar. Otherwise, teaching and studying math would be much more difficult, which would put the Europeans behind in math and probably therefore in the sciences as well.

KEVP
 

ninebucks

Banned
I suppose it'd be possible to, through centuries of increasingly unlikely misfortunes, stop the spread of Arabic numerals to Europe. But getting the Arabs and the Indians to drop their own numerals for a set that are vastly inferior seems positively ASB. About the only way would be if the Europeans forced them, but I think its safe to say that without Arabic numerals, you've butterflied away Western European global dominance.
 
the only way that the arabic numbers not be adopted is that arabic numbers never existed so the european would be maintained.
 
If Arabic numerals didn't exist, then the Arabs and Indians would need some sort of alternate numeral system. They wouldn't wait for contact with the Roman Empire.

"Arabic numerals" are just a good invention. Like technological inventions. Somebody invented it, and it was such a good idea that it spread. If it hadn't been invented in India, somebody somewhere else would have had to invented it. The symbols could look different, but the basic idea of place values and digits is an important step in the history of math (and therefore science).

KEVP
 
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