How did the addition subtraction multiplication and division signs of mathematics come about?
Mathematics is the language of the world. So the more you know the equation, the more you can communicate with the universe. - Neil Degres Tyson
Not only is the United States an astrophysicist, but many scientists around the world have made statements about mathematics. Without or what is the way? In fact, we are all useless in our daily lives without mathematics. For example, when you wake up in the morning, you also decide with numbers. What will be the first thing to do after waking up, what will be the second work; This 'first', 'second' is also a part of mathematics. The history of this mathematics is vast. But today's story is not about math, it's about a part of math; It is known as 'mathematical symbol'.
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| The symbols of mathematics are innumerable; Image Source: IB Community Blog |
The number of members in this part of mathematics is not less at all. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equal, square root, pie, parentheses, proportional, disproportionate, how many more! Even before the introduction of the sign, the work of the sign was in vogue. But in that case it would have taken more time and effort to put the whole process into words. So start using symbols for the purpose of preventing waste of time. For example, how easy it is for us to add 2 and 3 to write '2 + 3'. But when this plus sign didn't originate, it had to be written, 'Add 3 to 2'.
Again the result of '2 + 3' is 5, which we can easily express by typing 2 + 3 = 5. But until the 'equal' sign originated, it had to be replaced with 'is equal to', which was a relatively time-consuming affair. So the Welsh mathematician Robert Record, in writing his book, The Waitstone of Witt, introduced the equivalent (=) sign. Now let's talk about the signs separately.
Addition
The symbol used to count two or more numbers together is the plus sign. The process of adding for further enhancement. The word yoga comes from the Latin word Plus, which means 'more'. The origin of & (And) from Latin 'Et'. This 'and' is replaced by the '+' sign. As far as is known, the use of ‘+’ as a plus sign began in the fourteenth century. Nicholas Oresme is known to have used the '+' sign for the first time in his 'Algorithmus Propornum'. However, at that time it was not universally acclaimed. Many others used many other types of symbols. For example, the Italian mathematician ‘Luca Passioli’ used to mean yoga with a small mark on the English ‘p’. The '+' sign was widely used when the German mathematician Johannes Weidmann used it in his book Mercantile Arithmetic.
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| The symbol used by Luca Passioli Image Credit Author |
Subtraction
Exclusion means subtraction. The word 'minus' originates from the Latin word 'minus', which means 'less'. Lucas Passioli used 'm' instead of 'p' only in subtraction like addition. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Probably in the fourteenth century, addition and subtraction also originated. Subtraction began to be widely used soon after its use in the book 'Mercantile Arithmetic'. It is worth noting that the addition and subtraction signs were first introduced to the English by Robert Record in his book The Waitstone of Witt.
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| Now only the +, - sign is used; Source: Walls Haven |
Multiply
(×) or (.); At present these two symbols are widely used to denote multiplication. Although the second has a different use as a dot product, the first is more commonly used to denote general quality. The use of this symbol began in the sixteenth century. It is said that the English mathematician William Outrade was the first to use this symbol. However, it is not certain exactly why the multiplication process is marked by it. That being said, he uses it from St. Andrew's Cross.
Again, the idea of many, since multiplication has basically facilitated a much larger yoga process, so the use of multiplication symbols has started using the addition of symbols horizontally. However, as it coincides with the English 'x', the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried A rejected the symbol and used only one dot, which is still very common.
division
We see the use of many symbols as division symbols even in this 21st century. The most commonly used of these are '÷', '/', 'x), y (z' and '.'; It was introduced by the Arabs, and was later used by the European mathematician Fibonacci in the sixteenth century.
However, the most common participle (÷) was first used by the Swiss mathematician Johann Rahon in his book Teutsche Algebra in 1859. Although this mark does not currently have international recognition. The use of ‘/’ as a division sign is currently recognized as the norm.
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| Use of divide marks Image Source: Teutsche Algebra |
Equal
In 1556, the Welsh mathematician Robert Record wrote his book, The Waitstone of Whit, for his English students. In that book, he repeatedly used the word 'is equals to' as an annoyance and used two equal, horizontal and parallel spots (=), which later became popular and are still used. Some then used two vertical equal and parallel spots as equal symbols. However, the '=' sign is more acceptable.
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| From the book of Robert Records Image Source: The Whetstone of Witte |
The origins of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and even symbols are out of the question, but there are countless more mathematical symbols. Let's end by talking about some of them.
The British John Wallis first used the infinity symbol in 1855. In 1806, the pie symbol (π) was introduced by William Jones. In 1525, Rudolph introduced the square root. He wrote the first German textbook on algebra. Euler started using sin, cos, tan, period from 1848 to 1853. In 1806, Cramp began using ‘!’ As a factorial symbol.
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| Square root or square root sign; Image Source: Graphemica |
In this way, all these mathematical symbols have come down to us through the hands of countless people over the centuries. These signs have made our lives easier. And the ISO or International Organization of Standardization is still working to use the same symbol as a global norm.
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