[HN Gopher] Floating Calculation in Mesopotamia [pdf]
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       Floating Calculation in Mesopotamia [pdf]
        
       Author : belter
       Score  : 20 points
       Date   : 2023-02-28 18:13 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arxiv.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arxiv.org)
        
       | ted_dunning wrote:
       | These algorithms for floating computation feel completely
       | familiar (except for the base 60 part) to a user of a slide rule.
       | 
       | For instance, there is the completely separate method for
       | addition/subtraction versus multiplication/division. With a slide
       | rule, you do addition by longhand but multiplication on the slide
       | rule. With Mesopotamian math, you have one notation for numbers
       | you add and another for numbers you multiply.
       | 
       | Also, the thing with scale being very fluid. With a slide rule,
       | you always have order of magnitude in the back of your head. Same
       | with SPGN.
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-28 23:02 UTC)