--- Mariano de Vierna y Carles-Torl�
<m.v.ct@...> wrote:

>
> May be one of the best if not the best
> book about the history
> of numbers is the book:
>
> "Les chiffres ou l'histoire d'une grande invention"
> by Georges Ifrah
> and of wich probably there is an English
> translation.
>
> Althought Marco has already explaned it:
> Digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8, 9 are evolved
> graphs from the
> taken from the *occidental* arab numbers also called
> "numbers ghobar"; ghobar means sand that was used
> to write on it the numbers for doing operations. And
> arab
> graphs were taken from the hindi number's graphs, i
> don't know
> axactly from wich alphabet. In fact our digit's
> graphs have
> a resemblance with the diferent digit's graphs in
> the several
> alphabets used today in India.
> But, as you may know, the indian alphabets have
> evolved from
> the aramean alphabet, then after all the digit's
> graphs may have
> some relationship with the semitic alphabet.
>
> I like to name them "indian numbers".
>
> Yours,
> mariano
>
> ..........
> > > How did the term "Arabic numerals" come to be
> used for digits
> > > that aren't, well, Arabic?
> >
> > As others explained before, Europeans got them by
> the Arabians.
> >
> > I think that the first Europeans who started using
> them were
> mathematicians
> > who studied and translated Arabic mathematic
> books.
> >
> > This is also the reason why many terms related to
> calculus are from
> Arabic:
> > zero (from as-sifr), algebra (from "Al-Jabr...":
> the first words from the
> > title of a famous Arabic book about calculus),
> algorithm (from
> > al-Kuwarithmi: the author of that book)...
> >
> > > Is this term still being taught? Just in America
> or
> > > elsewhere? Is there a better term?
> >
> > I think yes. It is the same term we normally use
> in, e.g., Italian ("cifre
> > arabe", "numeri arabi").
> >
> > "Arabic numerals" sounds charming to me, and also
> has the advantage to
> > remind us that not everything was invented by
> Europeans.
> >
> > In contexts where confusion may arise with the
> digits actually used in
> > Arabic countries, "European numerals" or "Western
> numerals" can go.
> >
> > > Is there a traditional name for the group of
> digits starting
> > > with U+0660?
> >
> > Arabians themselves call them "Hindi numbers".
> >
> > This too is a charming term, because it tells us
> the first part of the
> > story: Arabians themselves got the decimal digits
> from a computing system
> > invented by Indian merchants.
> >
> > But, also in this case, confusion may arise with
> the digits normally used
> in
> > the Devanagari script.
> >
> > _ Marco
> >
> --Reply--

Our numerical digits should be termed *universal
numerical digits* since they're the ones used
throughout our world!

Robert Lloyd Wheelock
Augusta, ME USA



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