Babylonian Algebra. September 26th, 2018

A) How could one state a general mathematical principle in a time before the development of algebra and algebraic notation?

B) Is mathematics all about generalization and abstraction?

A) The Babylonians stated multiple principles and findings before they made use of symbols and letters by using words. Instead of words, they would use terms such as "length", "breadth", "height", as well others such as "the number", "the square", etc. What is truly special is the fact that both forms, whether it be word or symbol, ultimately stood for the same thing. They served the same purpose, and at one point, it just got too tedious to write the entire word out.

B) Mathematics, especially in historical civilizations were very applicable to the entire community. They would ask questions pertaining to food, material and other goods. These questions would typically do with trading or some sort of economy in their world. Nowadays, with how the math curriculum is set up in both secondary and post secondary, I would say that mathematics is largely abstraction. I will probably never use a derivative or integral in my life beyond answering test questions. With that being said, there are still many trades and practices that rely heavily on mathematics. Electricians use complex numbers, astronomers use advanced theorems, and even scheduling managers for large firms use matrices to help arrange their workers' shift situations (I know this because my manager from when I was working at McDonald's showed me how he used matrices to develop time sheets for all the employers).