Why do our numbers look the way they look? Why do we count the way we count? These questions answered and many more in this video looking at where English got its numbering system.
Our Arabic numerals are actually Hind-Arabic numeral, and were borrowed from India by mathematicians in the Arab world. Through trade with Europe, they eventually overtook Roman numerals as the continent’s dominant numerical system.
In this video we also look at the counting systems used by the ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Maya and the Inca.