BRAMMA GUPTA

Perhaps you didn’t realize that the zero had to be invented! Actually one of man’s greatest inventions, it was a concept that has had a tremendous influence on the history of mankind because it made the development of higher mathematics possible.

Up until about the sixteenth century, the number system used in Europe was the Roman system, invented about two thousand years ago. The Roman system was not a simple one. It is built on a base of 10. Thus the mark “X” means 10. The letter “C” means 100. The letter “M” stands for 1,000. The mark for 1 is “I,” for 5 “V,” for 50 “L,” and for 500 “D.” 4 is shown by “IV,” or 1 less than 5. To indicate 1,648, you write: “MDC XI VIII” In the Roman system, to read the number, sometimes you count, sometimes you subtract, sometimes you add.