On 2008/08/24, at 5:50 AM, James Frysinger wrote:
* properly speaking, the abacus is more like a register or
accumulator than a calculator.
Dear Jim,
It seems likely that the abacus was introduced into England (and
Europe) in the early 12th century by Adelard of Bath.
If you are interested in seeing where this innovation fits in an
historical context, you can find some information in the Metrication
timeline at http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/MetricationTimeline.pdf
as I have recently re-written this section based on my reading of
'The Nothing That Is: a natural history of zero' by Robert Kaplan. You
might start reading from the year 1080 when Adelard of Bath was born.
By the way, Jim, Adelard of Bath is no relation to Abelard (and
Eloise) of poetical and musical interest.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
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