The digits we commonly use are an adaptation of Arabic numerals based upon Indian digits (an Indian "invented" zero/null), which make calculations a great deal simpler. Can you readily multiply CCXII ...

Until the late Renaissance, there were few symbols to depict clearly and concisely what would later become known as an equation. Numbers and numerical problems were framed in words and sentences.

For more than 3,000 years, mathematics has played an important role in Indian culture. Sometimes it was studied for practical reasons and sometimes for pure intellectual delight. The earliest traces ...