Thanks, Pat. I'm pleased to see that your timeline has grown
considerably. In particular, I was tickled to see you describe the
abacus as I did (in your entry for 1107) as more like a "register or
accumulator". We must be two great minds....
Jim
Pat Naughtin wrote:
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 helped
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James R. Frysinger
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