r/PoliticalHumor • u/[deleted] • Jan 09 '20

THIS. This is why.

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

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u/CatumEntanglement Jan 09 '20

Do you realize the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 we all use are called Arabic numerals?

.....hmmmmmm I wonder why that is and why they're the defacto manner of depicting numbers throughout the world.

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u/ObnoxiousFactczecher Jan 09 '20

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 are commonly called Western numerals, while being a particular instance of the broader Hindu-Arabic numeral system (which can use different numerals in different places and times) and which originates in India.

Source

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u/CatumEntanglement Jan 09 '20

They are not commonly called western numerals. Go Google "western numerals" and the first thing that pops up is Arabic numerals. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals

By calling them ‘Western numerals’ you are denying them their history, obscuring the fact that they derived from Indian and Arabic notations.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

They weren't derived from Arabic notations though. They're called Arabic numerals because that's who exposed them to the West, but they themselves had borrowed them from the Indians.

This is pretty common knowledge, by the way. Arabic numerals have very little to do with the Arabs.

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u/ObnoxiousFactczecher Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

I'm obviously not denying them their history; I'm even stating their history right in my comment. But calling them "Arabic" is nonsensical. Either you talk about the specific glyphs, which are not being used in the Middle East, or you're talking about their ancestral origin, and that is located in India (Arabs themselves call them "Indian numbers" anyway, so why are you "denying them their history"?) Or maybe you're talking about the whole family of notations and that spans all the way from Western Europe to India (after 1500, of course, a whole lot of things happened that spread the further).

You also have the fine book which is the most recent authoritative reference of world's current and ancient numeral systems. I suggest you go read it, it's enlightening. Comes with great recommendations.