The Calendar by David Ewing Duncan

Author:David Ewing Duncan [Duncan, David Ewing]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: History, Science
Published: 2014-03-09T09:30:45+00:00

The first use of zero as a fully formed number seems to have appeared around the time of Brahmagupta in the seventh century, when this great Indian mathematician tried, but failed, to explain how zero could be divided by itself. The Maya also invented a true zero in about the third century AD, using several symbols, including a half-open eye--Ɵ--which they used to indicate missing positions as they wrote out numbers to represent time intervals in their calendar.

This explanation of zero does not quite finish our story about the mathematics needed to correct the calendar, since the year is not 365 days long, but 365.242199 days, give or take a few seconds. In other words, we have this pesky fraction to contend with, expressed here as a decimal fraction. This concept--and the ease with which we are able to represent this value--also did not come easily or all at once. Beyond the simplest divisions of a whole number, fractions posed a huge problem for humanity through most of history.

How do you divide three sacks of grain among five people? And how do you split up a year, month, day, hour or minute into smaller parts?

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