Arabic Numerals

Cue (NZERS), Issue 2, 30 June 1944, Page 9

Arabic Numerals

FOLLOWING on the announcement that the Arabic Eight was to be used as the Clasp to the Africa Star, apparent misunderstanding regarding its use arose and in many instances the Egyptian Eight, an inverted «V», was one of the many earlier variations worn by soldiers.

. Of course the misunderstanding • had its , rise 'in the acceptance of the similarity of the terms, Arabic and Egyptian and, the fact that English numerals are commonly known as Arabic or, technically, . Hindu-Arabic, had in most cases been completely overlooked. Many and varied claims have been put forward with respect to the origin of the present English usage of numerals and these include the assertion that early traces have been noted among the Arabs, Persians, Egyptians and the Hindus. INDIA’S LEAD. The country which first used the largest number of English numeral forms, as far as can be ascertained, was India. The numbers c l, 4, and 6 were found in the Asoka inscriptions during the 3rd century, BC. A century later, there appeared the figures 2, 4, 6, 7 and 9 in the ,Nana Ghat inscriptions, while the figures 2, 3, 4,6, 7 and 9 were discovered in the Nasik caves, which fixes the time at about the first or second cen- > tury of the present era. All these inscriptions were in forms which have striking resemblance ~ to English numerals of to-day and, indeed, the 2 and 3 were . recognised hand-written, or cursive, characters from the ancient = and « , In « The Outline of History, » by P-G.. Wells, it is stated that the origin of the so-called Arabic •numerals - is obscure. The zero was unknown until the 12th century when Mohamed Ibn Musa, an Arab mathematician, introduced it for general use. He was also the first to use the decimal

notation and he gave the digits the value of position. - ARAB CREATION. According to H.G. Wells’ version, the Arabs were great mathematicians and algebra was practically their creation, while in addition they also, held a high place with regard to astronomy. The Semetic peoples, in which group are included the Arabians, were earlier civilised than the Aryan and had always shown, as to-day, a far greater sense of quality .and. quantity in marketable goods than the latter. It was, then, because of their need for some form of account-bookkeeping that the development of alphabetical writing can be attributed, and that most of the great advance in various methods of computation were originated. SEMETIC SCIENCES. Thus H.G. Wells maintains that modern English numerals are Arabic in their derivation and that our arithmetic and algebra are essentially Semetic sciences. It is generally accepted that Christian students received their first introduction to the Arabic numerals through Emperor Frederick 11, Emperor of Germany and Sicily. In considering the misunderstanding which has arisen with regard to the terms Arabic and Egyptian, it is interesting to note that only in the case of the figure nine are the forms of the Egyptian and modern English ( numerals almost identical. The Egyptian seven and a reversed three, however, correspond to , the English six and four, respectively.