WI: Roman Numerals don't get replaced by Arabic Numerals

Acura NSX

thats right, imagine being in math class and your first problem is this:
V + III - X = ?

what if the Roman Numerals never gets replaced by the Arabic Numerals we use today? Would another system come about? What butterflies get created when we get to the information age? Would we adapt to them as we did with the Arabic numbers?
 

Cloudy Vortex

Forget math sucking. Forget math doing anything. Arithmetic is based on Arabic. You can't do anything with Roman, other than record. No algebra either. Or Trig. Or Calc. Science will still come as will the Method. But all major advances beyond that are stillborn. Course, Arabic, and the arithmetic bundled with it, is so much better than the exchequers used before (uh, think abbaci except with chessboards) the question becomes "What took 'em so long?"
 

HelloLegend

Banned
Arabic Numerals

The numbers we use are not "arabic" numerals.

I have been to the Middle East. Their "arabic" numerals are different
from our "arabic" numerals. The origin of the symbols we use probably
come from somewhere else, and one of the European "scholars" just got it wrong...

Analogy:

"Indians" in North America are Native Americans.

"Pennsylvania Dutch" are actually German.
 

Gladi

HelloLegend said:
The numbers we use are not "arabic" numerals.

I have been to the Middle East. Their "arabic" numerals are different
from our "arabic" numerals. The origin of the symbols we use probably
come from somewhere else, and one of the European "scholars" just got it wrong...

Analogy:

"Indians" in North America are Native Americans.

"Pennsylvania Dutch" are actually German.
Click to expand...

Well, I heard they were "original" arabic numerals.

And yes, you have buterflied away advanced technology in Europe. Of course you will need some bigger PoD than that, as this is multiple PoD. Maybe catholic church gets to opose them.
 

Alayta

The arabic renaissance does not stop, or will be reborn again (funny aint it?).
Maybe the great mathmatic descoveries of Leibniz and Newton will be made by the osmans?
 

Flocculencio

Donor
HelloLegend said:
The numbers we use are not "arabic" numerals.

I have been to the Middle East. Their "arabic" numerals are different
from our "arabic" numerals. The origin of the symbols we use probably
come from somewhere else, and one of the European "scholars" just got it wrong...
Click to expand...

They're called Arabic numerals because the ones used in Europe were adapted from Arabic numerals which, themselves, were adapted from Indian ones. In fact, apparently the Arabs themselves refer to their numeral system as "Hindu Numerals".

500px-Arabic_numerals-en.svg.png


Think of it like the alphabet. Our Roman alphabet looks very different from the original Mespotamian one but there's a direct chain of adaptation from the original discovery.
 

HelloLegend

Banned
Flocculencio said:
They're called Arabic numerals because the ones used in Europe were adapted from Arabic numerals which, themselves, were adapted from Indian ones. In fact, apparently the Arabs themselves refer to their numeral system as "Hindu Numerals".

500px-Arabic_numerals-en.svg.png


Think of it like the alphabet. Our Roman alphabet looks very different from the original Mespotamian one but there's a direct chain of adaptation from the original discovery.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the education. The numbers on the 2nd line is what I saw when I was there with the military.
 

Tyr

It is weird the arabs would still keep their old numbers. Everyone else has adapted to western ones....
But thats OT.

It seems to be quite inevitable we would adapt Indian numerals or else we'd be stuck in the dark ages- you will get someone setting out to invent modern maths
 

rewster

David S Poepoe said:
Not likely since they had mostly died out by the arrival of Europeans.
Click to expand...

Well, that depends on the butterflies... whatever caused the retaining of Roman numerals might have lead to an earlier contact as well.
Plus, the Aztecs used a numbering system derived from the Maya. However, it was base 20, which would probably confuse the hell out of the Euros.
 

Tyr

Leej said:
It is weird the arabs would still keep their old numbers. Everyone else has adapted to western ones....
But thats OT.

It seems to be quite inevitable we would adapt Indian numerals or else we'd be stuck in the dark ages- you will get someone setting out to invent modern maths
Click to expand...

Weird, part of my post was cut off.

Also said- or Roman numerals would need to utterly change and evolve into something else.
 
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