· 2019· Book chapter
Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs
- 142citations
- 2019year
Short summary
Ancient Egyptian scribes were highly skilled in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, developing ingenious methods for solving problems that their successors adopted.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Egyptian scribes were adept at solving arithmetic, algebraic, and geometric problems.
- They developed ingenious methods for problem-solving that were passed down.
- Specific techniques were used for multiplying and dividing fractions.
- Egyptian mathematical knowledge may have influenced Greek geometry.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The fact is that, despite their notation, the scribes were adept at solving arithmetic problems and were in fact quite skillful in devising ingenious methods of attack on algebraic and geometric problems as well, so that their successors remained content with what came down to them. Historians of Egyptian mathematics have seldom committed themselves regarding the methods of addition and subtraction employed by the Egyptian scribes; they mostly take for granted the scribes’ ability to add or subtract fairly large numbers. In multiplying and dividing fractions, the scribes used the same setting out as they did for integers, but they needed to use various techniques for the different problems that arose. The Greeks may also have taken from the Egyptians the rules for the determination of areas and volumes.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source., 2019 · DOI ↗
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Field: Theoretical Computer Science
Theoretical Computer ScienceMathematics