OB surveying, number systems and Si.427
Insights into Mathematics
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Recently Daniel Mansfield from UNSW published a new analysis of the Old Babylonian (OB) tablet Si.427 which is a field plan from around Sippar, in what is now modern Iraq. We want to describe some of his findings, and in this preliminary video we introduce the topic of surveying in ancient Mesopotamia, and discuss the important role that their sexagesimal number system played in both their mathematics and geometry.
To appreciate just how novel their arithmetic was, we talk a little about our modern number systems by way of comparison and contrast. And we bring out these differences by looking at the important problem of scaling triangles to fit required shapes to given data.
A UNSW news item about Daniel's work: https://news.unsw.edu.au/en/australia....
Here are all the Insights into Mathematics Playlists:
Elementary Mathematics (K-6) Explained: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PL8403C2F0C89B1333
Year 9 Maths: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Ancient Mathematics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Wild West Banking: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Sociology and Pure Mathematics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Old Babylonian Mathematics (with Daniel Mansfield): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Math History: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Wild Trig: Intro to Rational Trigonometry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
MathFoundations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Wild Linear Algebra: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Famous Math Problems: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Probability and Statistics: An Introduction: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Boole's Logic and Circuit Analysis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Universal Hyperbolic Geometry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Differential Geometry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Algebraic Topology: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Math Seminars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
And here are the Wild Egg Maths Playlists:
Triangle Centres: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLBGX...
Six: An elementary course in pure mathematics: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Algebraic Calculus One: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Algebraic Calculus Two: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...