How numbers became numbers...

chasin-tail · 07-13-2010, 01:54 AM

How numerals 0 - 9 got their shape - Interesting.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Do you know why numbers look like they do? Someone, at some point in time, had to create their shapes and meaning.

Watch this short presentation and then you will know how our Arabic numbers were originally created a very long time ago and what logic the people that created them used to determine their shapes. It is really very simple and quite creative?

You have to admire the intelligence of a person or people that created something so simple and perfect that it has lasted for thousands and thousands of years and will probably never change?

When the presentation gets to the number "seven" you will notice that the 7 has a line through the middle of it. That was the way the Arabic 7 as originally written, and in Europe and certain other areas they still write the 7 that way. Also, in the military, they commonly write it that way.

The nine has a kind of curly tail on it that has been reduced,for the most part nowadays, to a simple curve, but the logic involved still applies...

SORRY THE POWER POINT WILL NOT UP LOAD, SO HERE GO MY LAME TRY TO EXPLAIN...

The number where actually "Angles"..(1)has one angle the original 2 look more like a (z) and has two angles...on so on..

PM me an email address and I'll forward the Power Point...

Sea-r-cy · 07-13-2010, 06:48 AM

I'm just glad we don't use roman numerals. Can you imagine gps coordinates?

II IX III I. IX V V x VIII IV II IV. IX IX VII ( 2931.955 x 8424.997)

Sea-r-cy

BWNN · 07-13-2010, 06:44 PM

Searcy....I am still laughing. learned something & laughed at the same time!

Orion45 · 07-14-2010, 01:28 AM

I heard about this a long time ago but I think is BS.

Anyway, here is the theory behind it.

YouTube - Arabic Numbers

Here's another explanation:

Origin of the Arabic Numerals

Mullethead · 07-14-2010, 01:37 AM

This is BS - sorry

Arabic numerals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Common misconceptions
Despite evidence to the contrary, some folkloric explanations for the origin of modern Arabic numerals persist. While these hypotheses continue to propagate due to their seemingly well-constructed arguments, they were based entirely on speculation by individuals who, while genuinely intrigued by the subject, were either ignorant of the relevant archeological facts, or simply lived in an era preceding much of their modern rediscovery. One popular example of such myths claims that the original forms of these symbols indicated their value through the quantity of angles they contained.[15][16][17]

Tuna Man · 07-14-2010, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea-r-cy

I'm just glad we don't use roman numerals. Can you imagine gps coordinates?

II IX III I. IX V V x VIII IV II IV. IX IX VII ( 2931.955 x 8424.997)

Sea-r-cy

29.31.955 - 84.24.997
XXIX . XXXI . CMLV (north)
LXXXIV . XXIV . CMXCVII (west)

(North)
MMCMXXXI . CMLV 2931.955

(West) MMMMMMMMCDXXIV . CMXCVII 8424.997

Now add, subtract, multiply and divide those numbers... oh yea they had a abacus.

07-13-2010, 01:54 AM	#1
chasin-tail Senior Member Grouper Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: All over the US! Posts: 907	How numbers became numbers... How numerals 0 - 9 got their shape - Interesting. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Do you know why numbers look like they do? Someone, at some point in time, had to create their shapes and meaning. Watch this short presentation and then you will know how our Arabic numbers were originally created a very long time ago and what logic the people that created them used to determine their shapes. It is really very simple and quite creative? You have to admire the intelligence of a person or people that created something so simple and perfect that it has lasted for thousands and thousands of years and will probably never change? When the presentation gets to the number "seven" you will notice that the 7 has a line through the middle of it. That was the way the Arabic 7 as originally written, and in Europe and certain other areas they still write the 7 that way. Also, in the military, they commonly write it that way. The nine has a kind of curly tail on it that has been reduced,for the most part nowadays, to a simple curve, but the logic involved still applies... SORRY THE POWER POINT WILL NOT UP LOAD, SO HERE GO MY LAME TRY TO EXPLAIN... The number where actually "Angles"..(1)has one angle the original 2 look more like a (z) and has two angles...on so on.. PM me an email address and I'll forward the Power Point... Last edited by chasin-tail; 07-13-2010 at 02:04 AM. Reason: link

07-13-2010, 06:48 AM	#2
Sea-r-cy Senior Member Sailfish Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,604	Glad I'm just glad we don't use roman numerals. Can you imagine gps coordinates? II IX III I. IX V V x VIII IV II IV. IX IX VII ( 2931.955 x 8424.997) Sea-r-cy

07-13-2010, 06:44 PM	#3
BWNN Senior Member Trigger Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 293	Searcy....I am still laughing. learned something & laughed at the same time! __________________ 240 Bay Scout 250 Yamaha Crestview, FL

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07-14-2010, 01:37 AM	#5
Mullethead Senior Member Grouper Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 608	This is BS - sorry Arabic numerals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Common misconceptions Despite evidence to the contrary, some folkloric explanations for the origin of modern Arabic numerals persist. While these hypotheses continue to propagate due to their seemingly well-constructed arguments, they were based entirely on speculation by individuals who, while genuinely intrigued by the subject, were either ignorant of the relevant archeological facts, or simply lived in an era preceding much of their modern rediscovery. *One popular example of such myths claims that the original forms of these symbols indicated their value through the quantity of angles they contained.[15][16][17]*

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