Why does the west use Arabic Numerals? (Short Animated Documentary)
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the historical transition from Roman to Arabic numerals in the Western world. Despite being the standard for millennia, Roman numerals were gradually replaced due to the efficiency of Arabic numerals, which originated in India and reached Europe through trade with the Arabic world. The shift began in the 13th century with Fibonacci's advocacy but faced resistance due to cultural conservatism and religious concerns. It wasn't until the Renaissance that Arabic numerals gained widespread acceptance, particularly among the banking community, for their mathematical convenience and superiority.
Takeaways
- 🔢 Western societies predominantly use Arabic numerals today, but this was not always the case; Roman numerals were the standard for millennia.
- 📚 Roman numerals were the only system used in the West until the introduction of Arabic numerals in the 9th century, despite the latter's initial lack of widespread adoption.
- 🌍 Eastern Europe had its own numeral system, the Cyrillic numerals, which were in use until the 18th century reforms by Peter the Great.
- 📈 The spread of Arabic numerals in Europe was significantly influenced by the work of Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, who advocated for their efficiency in his mathematical textbook.
- 🚫 The adoption of Arabic numerals was initially slow due to concerns about potential fraud and cultural resistance, as they were seen as foreign and unchristian.
- 📖 It took until the Renaissance for Arabic numerals to gain more traction, with universities beginning to teach them, although their spread was still gradual.
- 🏛 The cultural conservatism of using Roman numerals, which had been in use for so long, was a barrier to change, despite the advantages of Arabic numerals.
- 💼 Bankers and merchants, who did not typically attend university, continued to use Roman numerals, which slowed the transition to Arabic numerals.
- 🔍 The efficiency of Arabic numerals in mathematical operations, such as multiplication, became more apparent during the Renaissance, leading to their increased use.
- 🏛️ The Medici banking family and other Italian leaders of the Renaissance were instrumental in bringing Arabic numerals into wider use due to their efficiency in commerce and mathematics.
- 📅 Despite their decline in everyday use, Roman numerals persist in certain contexts, such as on some calendars and by monarchs.
Q & A
Why were Roman numerals replaced by Arabic numerals in the Western world?
-Roman numerals were replaced due to the efficiency and practicality of Arabic numerals, which were introduced to Europe through trade with the Arabic world and gained popularity especially after the work of Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, who advocated for their use in his mathematical textbook.
What numeral system was predominantly used in Eastern Europe before the reforms of Peter the Great?
-Eastern Europe predominantly used the Cyrillic numeral system of the Bulgarian Empire until Peter the Great's reforms in the 18th century.
When were Arabic numerals first introduced to Europe?
-Arabic numerals were first introduced to Europe in the 9th century, with Pope Sylvester II being in favor of their use.
Who is credited with significantly spreading the use of Arabic numerals in the 13th century?
-Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Fibonacci, is credited with spreading the use of Arabic numerals through his mathematical textbook that argued for their superiority.
Why did the adoption of Arabic numerals initially face resistance in Europe?
-The adoption faced resistance due to concerns about the potential for fraud, as the new system was easier to tamper with compared to Roman numerals, and because it was imported from the Islamic world, which made Christian leaders uneasy.
What were the two main reasons for the slow adoption of Arabic numerals in Europe?
-The two main reasons were the susceptibility of the new system to fraud and the cultural and religious resistance due to its origins in the Islamic world.
How did the Renaissance contribute to the spread of Arabic numerals?
-The Renaissance led to a questioning of old institutions and promoted the study of Arabic numerals in universities, which helped spread their use among the educated classes and eventually to bankers and merchants.
Why were bankers and merchants initially not taught Arabic numerals?
-Bankers and merchants were not taught Arabic numerals because they did not typically attend universities where the new system was being taught, and they were more familiar with Roman numerals.
What is an example of the complexity of performing multiplication with Roman numerals?
-An example given in the script is multiplying 13 by 13 in Roman numerals, which involves a lengthy process of doubling numbers, adding lines, and managing even numbers, showing the inefficiency compared to Arabic numerals.
Why did the Medici banking family adopt Arabic numerals?
-The Medici banking family adopted Arabic numerals for their efficiency in mathematical operations, which was a significant advantage in banking and financial calculations.
In what contexts are Roman numerals still occasionally used today?
-Roman numerals are still occasionally used today in certain contexts such as by monarchs and in some calendars.
Outlines
📚 The Transition from Roman to Arabic Numerals
This paragraph discusses the historical shift from Roman to Arabic numerals in the Western world. It explains that Roman numerals were the standard for millennia until the 9th century when Arabic numerals, which originated in India, were introduced to Europe through trade with the Arabic world. Despite initial resistance due to cultural conservatism and religious bias, the efficiency of Arabic numerals in mathematical operations eventually led to their widespread adoption, particularly after the 13th century when Fibonacci's mathematical textbook advocated for their use. The paragraph also touches on the challenges faced by the new system, such as susceptibility to fraud and the reluctance of established institutions to change.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Arabic Numerals
💡Roman Numerals
💡Cyrillic Numeral System
💡Fibonacci
💡Renaissance
💡Efficiency
💡Cultural Conservatism
💡Fraud
💡Islamic World
💡Medici Banking Family
💡Peter the Great
Highlights
Western world predominantly used Roman numerals for millennia before Arabic numerals were adopted.
Eastern Europe used the Cyrillic numeral system until the 18th century.
Arabic numerals were introduced to Europe in the 9th century but did not gain popularity until the 13th century.
Pope Sylvester II was in favor of Arabic numerals, but they did not become widely accepted at the time.
Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, wrote a mathematical textbook advocating the superiority of Arabic numerals.
Arabic numerals were initially adopted by merchants in Pisa but were later banned due to concerns of fraud.
Roman numerals were resistant to tampering, unlike the easily altered Arabic numerals.
Christian leaders were uneasy about adopting a system from the Islamic world, viewing it as unchristian.
The spread of Arabic numerals was slow due to cultural conservatism and the familiarity with Roman numerals.
Renaissance universities began teaching Arabic numerals, but their spread was limited by the lack of university education among bankers and merchants.
The Medici banking family and other Italian leaders of the Renaissance were instrumental in promoting Arabic numerals for their efficiency.
Roman numerals were cumbersome for mathematical operations, exemplified by the complex process of multiplying 13 by 13.
The efficiency of Arabic numerals in mathematical operations was a key factor in their eventual widespread adoption.
Monarchs and some calendars still occasionally use Roman numerals, despite their general decline in favor of Arabic numerals.
The transition from Roman to Arabic numerals was a gradual process influenced by cultural, religious, and practical factors.
The episode concludes with a special thanks to Patreon supporters, highlighting the community's contribution to the content.
Transcripts
as you know the Western world
predominantly uses Arabic numerals for
mathematics but it never used to for
millennia Roman numerals were used but
why were they replaced what led to
Europe and the Western world adopting
Arabic numerals throughout the life of
the Roman Empire and the millennium
after its collapse in the West Roman
numerals were the only game in town
sidenote in case you're wondering much
of Eastern Europe used the Cyrillic
numeral system of the Bulgarian Empire
until Peter the Great's reforms in the
18th century
anyway whilst Roman numerals might
appear to be complicated when trying to
use them in mathematics everyone in
Europe had only ever known them it was
obvious to everyone back then that zip
plus Xavier equals LA obviously all
joking aside this had been the way that
things had been done for thousands of
years so why did they change and how
Arabic numerals call so because they
came to Europe through trade with the
Arabic world they actually originated in
India by the way were first introduced
to Europe in the 9th century and in fact
pope sylvester ii was heavily in favor
of they used but they never took off it
wasn't until the 13th century the tara
big numerals began to spread to
merchants some or perhaps much of this
was down to the work of Leonardo of Pisa
better known as Fibonacci who basically
wrote a mathematical textbook which
argued that Arabic numerals were
superior
Fibonacci's arguments for adopting were
convincing and many merchants in pisa
adopted the new system at least
temporarily since it was soon afterwards
banned there were two main reasons for
this which also white took so long for
Arabic numerals to be adopted in the
rest of Europe one the new system was
open to fraud with Roman numerals
merchants would use a flick with the
last iron a number to mark that it was
the last one something hard to tamper
with whereas anyone could turn a 3 into
an 8 and make it look like somebody owed
more money than they did and reason
number 2 because the system was imported
from the Islamic world it made Christian
lead his emergence uneasy who often at
the very least saw the use of it as
being unchristian and in the eyes of
church leaders had also promoted trade
with the Islamic world which was seen as
a no-no this setback took another two
centuries to overcome when our big
numeral started popping up all over
Europe Renaissance universities were
quick to start instruction in Arabic
numerals yet they took centuries to
spread because bankers and merchants
didn't attend university and so were
instructed in the better understood
Roman numerals and another reason was
because of cultural conservatism Roman
numerals had been used literally for
millennia and were good enough for the
Romans so why change anything
it was only when the Renaissance really
took off and old institutions were for
the first time question that the use of
Roman numerals work we read the new
leaders in Italy were students of the
Renaissance and many like the Medici
banking family brought Arabic numerals
with them for them it was the efficiency
in mathematics as an example would do 13
times 13 in Roman numerals two columns
one of the numbers being multiplied in
each add a new line half the number in
the left column and doubled the number
in the right you keep going until the
half number gets to one then cross out
any rows where the number in the left
column is even at the right column
together and there's your answer hence
why we got rid of them there after
leaving only monarchs in the occasional
calendar still using Roman numerals I
hope you enjoyed this episode and a
special thanks to all my patreon
supporters James vis annette marvin
castle a man of culture danny Meloni Jon
viscous Rob Waterhouse Moe Aaron the
white James Castaneda Gustav Swan Jordan
long ray
Marcus Ozma spinning three plates
cooling Castleman filled oink oink
Rashid Ali David Silverman easy Maggie
packs Kowski Spencer Lightfoot Winston
Cawood Robert Wetzel Lexi Schwinn
Anthony Beckett and Skye Chappell I'm
gonna get yelled at for calling them
Arabic numerals aren't I
関連動画をさらに表示
A brief history of numerical systems - Alessandra King
Pharmacy Tech Lesson - Roman Numerals
How To Name Ionic Compounds With Transition Metals
Why algorithms are called algorithms | BBC Ideas
Why is 'x' the unknown? | Terry Moore
Formulae Of Ionic Compounds & Their Names: Part 2 | Properties of Matter | Chemistry | FuseSchool
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)