The Modern Number-System The Universal History of Numbers (Volume II)

Numbers are one of two creations (the other being the alphabet of the human spirit which have given us today world. The three volumes of The Universal History of Numbers are probably the first comprehensive history of numbers and of counting from Prehistory to the modern age. They are also the story of how the human race has learnt to think logically. In volume II, Georges Ifrah continues the story of the invention of the modern umber-system by telling us how Indian civilization became the cradle of modern numerals with the invention of the place value system and of zero. Twenty-one geographically different Indian numerical notations of the nine numerals and the zero are explained individually with illustrations. A detailed Dictionary of Indian Numerical symbols, recorded alphabetically, gives the reader a better idea of the subtle and complicated world of numbers which derived from the genius of Indian mathematicians working in the late Middle Ages. It was Arab scholars who brought the system to the West. If Western mathematical progress today looks dazzling, it is because it stands on a solid non-Western foundation. Amazing captivating and enriching, the Universal History of Numbers is a must read not only for specialists and academics, but also for the average reader who is interested in the development of civilization.