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vee-kaytoday at 5:27 AM2 repliesview on HN

Fun fact: zero and numerals were not invented by the Arabs. The Arabs learnt the concept & use of mathematical zero, numerals, decimal system, mathematical calculations, etc. from the ancient Hindus/Indians. And from the Arabs, the Europeans learnt it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu-Arabic_numeral_system

Persian scholar Al Khwarizmi translated and used the Hindu/Indian numerals (including concept of mathematical zero) and "Sulba Sutras" (Hindu/Indian methods of mathematical problem solving) into the text Al-Jabr, which the Europeans translated as "Algebra" (yup, that branch of mathematics that all schoolkids worldwide learn from kindergarten).


Replies

lappettoday at 2:35 PM

Yeah I believe modern trigonometry and the terms sine and cos also trace their origins to Sanskrit through Arabic. It's a shame that ancient/medieval India contributed so much to science and math but hasn't been able to innovate in centuries past :(

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gsf_emergency_6today at 6:35 AM

The word used to mean "empty" (and not algebraic zero) in both Arabic and Sanskrit.

https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/MathEd/index.php/2022/08/25/the...

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