“All things are numbers,” said Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician, philosopher and mystic 2600 years ago. To him, numbers brought order and harmony to everything, from cosmos to life to music.
He was, of course, right. We see numbers all around us, and we live our daily lives in numbers: Our medical reports and vital signs come in numbers, as do our businesses and finances. We check our calories, weights, driving speed, time, temperature and weather in numbers.
The West learned algebra and algorithm from the 1200-year old work of al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician. (Algebra comes from al-jabr in Arabic, and algorithm is the misspelled name of Khwarizmi.)
He was, of course, right. We see numbers all around us, and we live our daily lives in numbers: Our medical reports and vital signs come in numbers, as do our businesses and finances. We check our calories, weights, driving speed, time, temperature and weather in numbers.
The West learned algebra and algorithm from the 1200-year old work of al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician. (Algebra comes from al-jabr in Arabic, and algorithm is the misspelled name of Khwarizmi.)