Babylonian Word Problems
When it comes to word problems that we have uncovered from the past, we typically think of practicality. In ancient times, many of the problems had to do with applicable circumstances. Some may have to do with going to a market with a set amount of money, and figuring out how many of each specific item one may purchase. Others may deal with dimensions and space, such as the greatest dimensions possible to hold cattle. Compared to now, the questions they used back then were very much usable. They weren't abstract in the sense that most problems dealt with obstacles many faced in every day scenarios.
However, I was fairly surprised after reading this article to find out that many of those applicable word problems were not very realistic. For example, in the article it mentioned that some examples focused on buildings and structures contained dimensions that were practically impossible to construct. In another example, Eleanor Robson questioned how a grain pile could ever be constructed within the given measurements. When students nowadays complain that many of the textbook examples aren't applicable to life nowadays, I wonder if students back then did the same.
I believe the Babylonians were able to generalize concepts, in particular, they had ways of measuring a 2 by 8 unit rectangle. Whether those generalized concepts were correct is a different story, but they have 3 ways to measure the diagonals. I believe that by repeatedly doing multiple questions on various concepts, the Babylonians could have a basic, or even advanced understanding of many simple equations and formulas.
In ancient Babylon, we know from class that the Babylonians did not have a clear concept of algebraic constructs, but they were very close to getting there. Instead of symbolic representations of "X" (Or other variables), they used words and phrases. They constructed their solutions in ways similar to ours, just with less algebraic symbols and letters.
In ancient Greece, there was more of a sense of Abstract mathematics. But in Babylon, most of it was Applied. I do now know why that is, but it seems to me as if the mathematics taught in schools at the time were to directly affect their present day lifestyles. Questions on military topics and farming and agricultural problems were presented to students so they could have a better understanding of what was important at the time.
However, I was fairly surprised after reading this article to find out that many of those applicable word problems were not very realistic. For example, in the article it mentioned that some examples focused on buildings and structures contained dimensions that were practically impossible to construct. In another example, Eleanor Robson questioned how a grain pile could ever be constructed within the given measurements. When students nowadays complain that many of the textbook examples aren't applicable to life nowadays, I wonder if students back then did the same.
I believe the Babylonians were able to generalize concepts, in particular, they had ways of measuring a 2 by 8 unit rectangle. Whether those generalized concepts were correct is a different story, but they have 3 ways to measure the diagonals. I believe that by repeatedly doing multiple questions on various concepts, the Babylonians could have a basic, or even advanced understanding of many simple equations and formulas.
In ancient Babylon, we know from class that the Babylonians did not have a clear concept of algebraic constructs, but they were very close to getting there. Instead of symbolic representations of "X" (Or other variables), they used words and phrases. They constructed their solutions in ways similar to ours, just with less algebraic symbols and letters.
In ancient Greece, there was more of a sense of Abstract mathematics. But in Babylon, most of it was Applied. I do now know why that is, but it seems to me as if the mathematics taught in schools at the time were to directly affect their present day lifestyles. Questions on military topics and farming and agricultural problems were presented to students so they could have a better understanding of what was important at the time.
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