History of Mathematics in India

In all early civilizations, the first expression of mathematical understanding

appears in the form of counting systems. Numbers in very early societies were
typically represented by groups of lines, though later different numbers came to
be assigned specific numeral names and symbols (as in India) or were designated
by alphabetic letters (such as in Rome). Although today, we take our decimal
system for granted, not all ancient civilizations based their numbers on a ten-base
system. In ancient Babylon, a sexagesimal (base 60) system was in use.

The Decimal System in Harappa

In India a decimal system was already in place during the Harappan period, as
indicated by an analysis of Harappan weights and measures. Weights
corresponding to ratios of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and
500 have been identified, as have scales with decimal divisions. A particularly
notable characteristic of Harappan weights and measures is their remarkable
accuracy. A bronze rod marked in units of 0.367 inches points to the degree of
precision demanded in those times. Such scales were particularly important in
ensuring proper implementation of town planning rules that required roads of fixed
widths to run at right angles to each other, for drains to be constructed of precise
measurements, and for homes to be constructed according to specified guidelines.
The existence of a gradated system of accurately marked weights points to the
development of trade and commerce in Harappan society.

Mathematical Activity in the Vedic Period

In the Vedic period, records of mathematical activity are mostly to be found in

Vedic texts associated with ritual activities. However, as in many other early
agricultural civilizations, the study of arithmetic and geometry was also impelled
by secular considerations. Thus, to some extent early mathematical developments
in India mirrored the developments in Egypt, Babylon and China . The system of
land grants and agricultural tax assessments required accurate measurement of
cultivated areas. As land was redistributed or consolidated, problems of
mensuration came up that required solutions. In order to ensure that all
cultivators had equivalent amounts of irrigated and non-irrigated lands and tracts
of equivalent fertility - individual farmers in a village often had their holdings
broken up in several parcels to ensure fairness. Since plots could not all be of the
same shape - local administrators were required to convert rectangular plots or
triangular plots to squares of equivalent sizes and so on. Tax assessments were
based on fixed proportions of annual or seasonal crop incomes, but could be
adjusted upwards or downwards based on a variety of factors. This meant that an
understanding of geometry and arithmetic was virtually essential for revenue
administrators. Mathematics was thus brought into the service of both the secular
and the ritual domains.

Arithmetic operations (Ganit) such as addition, subtraction, multiplication,

fractions, squares, cubes and roots are enumerated in the Narad Vishnu Purana
attributed to Ved Vyas (pre-1000 BC). Examples of geometric knowledge (rekha-
ganit) are to be found in the Sulva-Sutras of Baudhayana (800 BC) and
Apasthmaba (600 BC) which describe techniques for the construction of ritual
altars in use during the Vedic era. It is likely that these texts tapped geometric
knowledge that may have been acquired much earlier, possibly in the Harappan
period. Baudhayana's Sutra displays an understanding of basic geometric shapes
and techniques of converting one geometric shape (such as a rectangle) to
another of equivalent (or multiple, or fractional) area (such as a square). While
some of the formulations are approximations, others are accurate and reveal a
certain degree of practical ingenuity as well as some theoretical understanding of
basic geometric principles. Modern methods of multiplication and addition probably
emerged from the techniques described in the Sulva-Sutras.

Pythagoras - the Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 6th C B.C
was familiar with the Upanishads and learnt his basic geometry from the Sulva
Sutras. An early statement of what is commonly known as the Pythagoras
theorem is to be found in Baudhayana's Sutra: The chord which is stretched
across the diagonal of a square produces an area of double the size. A similar
observation pertaining to oblongs is also noted. His Sutra also contains geometric
solutions of a linear equation in a single unknown. Examples of quadratic
equations also appear. Apasthamba's sutra (an expansion of Baudhayana's with
several original contributions) provides a value for the square root of 2 that is
accurate to the fifth decimal place. Apasthamba also looked at the problems of
squaring a circle, dividing a segment into seven equal parts, and a solution to the
general linear equation. Jain texts from the 6th C BC such as the Surya Pragyapti
describe ellipses.

Modern-day commentators are divided on how some of the results were

generated. Some believe that these results came about through hit and trial - as
rules of thumb, or as generalizations of observed examples. Others believe that
once the scientific method came to be formalized in the Nyaya-Sutras - proofs for
such results must have been provided, but these have either been lost or
destroyed, or else were transmitted orally through the Gurukul system, and only
the final results were tabulated in the texts. In any case, the study of Ganit i.e
mathematics was given considerable importance in the Vedic period. The Vedang
Jyotish (1000 BC) includes the statement: "Just as the feathers of a peacock and
the jewel-stone of a snake are placed at the highest point of the body (at the
forehead), similarly, the position of Ganit is the highest amongst all branches of
the Vedas and the Shastras."

(Many centuries later, Jain mathematician from Mysore, Mahaviracharya further emphasized the
importance of mathematics: "Whatever object exists in this moving and non-moving world, cannot
be understood without the base of Ganit (i.e. mathematics)".)

Panini and Formal Scientific Notation

A particularly important development in the history of Indian science that was to

have a profound impact on all mathematical treatises that followed was the
pioneering work by Panini (6th C BC) in the field of Sanskrit grammar and
linguistics. Besides expounding a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics,
phonology and morphology, Panini provided formal production rules and
definitions describing Sanskrit grammar in his treatise called Asthadhyayi. Basic
elements such as vowels and consonants, parts of speech such as nouns and
verbs were placed in classes. The construction of compound words and sentences
was elaborated through ordered rules operating on underlying structures in a
manner similar to formal language theory.

Today, Panini's constructions can also be seen as comparable to modern

definitions of a mathematical function. G G Joseph, in The crest of the peacock
argues that the algebraic nature of Indian mathematics arises as a consequence of
the structure of the Sanskrit language. Ingerman in his paper titled Panini-Backus
form finds Panini's notation to be equivalent in its power to that of Backus -
inventor of the Backus Normal Form used to describe the syntax of modern
computer languages. Thus Panini's work provided an example of a scientific
notational model that could have propelled later mathematicians to use abstract
notations in characterizing algebraic equations and presenting algebraic theorems
and results in a scientific format.
Philosophy and Mathematics

Philosophical doctrines also had a profound influence on the development of

mathematical concepts and formulations. Like the Upanishadic world view, space
and time were considered limitless in Jain cosmology. This led to a deep interest in
very large numbers and definitions of infinite numbers. Infinite numbers were
created through recursive formulae, as in the Anuyoga Dwara Sutra. Jain
mathematicians recognized five different types of infinities: infinite in one
direction, in two directions, in area, infinite everywhere and perpetually infinite.
Permutations and combinations are listed in the Bhagvati Sutras (3rd C BC) and
Sathananga Sutra (2nd C BC).

Jain set theory probably arose in parallel with the Syadvada system of Jain
epistemology in which reality was described in terms of pairs of truth conditions
and state changes. The Anuyoga Dwara Sutra demonstrates an understanding of
the law of indeces and uses it to develop the notion of logarithms. Terms like Ardh
Aached , Trik Aached, and Chatur Aached are used to denote log base 2, log base
3 and log base 4 respectively. In Satkhandagama various sets are operated upon
by logarithmic functions to base two, by squaring and extracting square roots, and
by raising to finite or infinite powers. The operations are repeated to produce new
sets. In other works the relation of the number of combinations to the coefficients
occurring in the binomial expansion is noted.

Since Jain epistemology allowed for a degree of indeterminacy in describing

reality, it probably helped in grappling with indeterminate equations and finding
numerical approximations to irrational numbers.

Buddhist literature also demonstrates an awareness of indeterminate and infinite

numbers. Buddhist mathematics was classified either as Garna (Simple
Mathematics) or Sankhyan (Higher Mathematics). Numbers were deemed to be of
three types: Sankheya (countable), Asankheya (uncountable) and Anant (infinite).

Philosophical formulations concerning Shunya - i.e. emptiness or the void may

have facilitated in the introduction of the concept of zero. While the zero (bindu)
as an empty place holder in the place-value numeral system appears much earlier,
algebraic definitions of the zero and it's relationship to mathematical functions
appear in the mathematical treatises of Brahmagupta in the 7th C AD. Although
scholars are divided about how early the symbol for zero came to be used in
numeric notation in India, (Ifrah arguing that the use of zero is already implied in
Aryabhatta) tangible evidence for the use of the zero begins to proliferate towards
the end of the Gupta period. Between the 7th C and the 11th C, Indian numerals
developed into their modern form, and along with the symbols denoting various
mathematical functions (such as plus, minus, square root etc) eventually became
the foundation stones of modern mathematical notation.

The Indian Numeral System

Although the Chinese were also using a decimal based counting system, the
Chinese lacked a formal notational system that had the abstraction and elegance
of the Indian notational system, and it was the Indian notational system that
reached the Western world through the Arabs and has now been accepted as
universal. Several factors contributed to this development whose significance is
perhaps best stated by French mathematician, Laplace: "The ingenious method of
expressing every possible number using a set of ten symbols (each symbol having
a place value and an absolute value) emerged in India. The idea seems so simple
nowadays that its significance and profound importance is no longer appreciated.
It's simplicity lies in the way it facilitated calculation and placed arithmetic
foremost amongst useful inventions."
Brilliant as it was, this invention was no accident. In the Western world, the
cumbersome roman numeral system posed as a major obstacle, and in China the
pictorial script posed as a hindrance. But in India, almost everything was in place
to favor such a development. There was already a long and established history in
the use of decimal numbers, and philosophical and cosmological constructs
encouraged a creative and expansive approach to number theory. Panini's studies
in linguistic theory and formal language and the powerful role of symbolism and
representational abstraction in art and architecture may have also provided an
impetus, as might have the rationalist doctrines and the exacting epistemology of
the Nyaya Sutras, and the innovative abstractions of the Syadavada and Buddhist
schools of learning.

Influence of Trade and Commerce, Importance of Astronomy

The growth of trade and commerce, particularly lending and borrowing demanded
an understanding of both simple and compound interest which probably stimulated
the interest in arithmetic and geometric series. Brahmagupta's description of
negative numbers as debts and positive numbers as fortunes points to a link
between trade and mathematical study. Knowledge of astronomy - particularly
knowledge of the tides and the stars was of great import to trading communities
who crossed oceans or deserts at night. This is borne out by numerous references
in the Jataka tales and several other folk-tales. The young person who wished to
embark on a commercial venture was inevitably required to first gain some
grounding in astronomy. This led to a proliferation of teachers of astronomy, who
in turn received training at universities such as at Kusumpura (Bihar) or Ujjain
(Central India) or at smaller local colleges or Gurukuls. This also led to the
exchange of texts on astronomy and mathematics amongst scholars and the
transmission of knowledge from one part of India to another. Virtually every
Indian state produced great mathematicians who wrote commentaries on the
works of other mathematicians (who may have lived and worked in a different part
of India many centuries earlier). Sanskrit served as the common medium of
scientific communication.

The science of astronomy was also spurred by the need to have accurate
calendars and a better understanding of climate and rainfall patterns for timely
sowing and choice of crops. At the same time, religion and astrology also played a
role in creating an interest in astronomy and a negative fallout of this irrational
influence was the rejection of scientific theories that were far ahead of their time.
One of the greatest scientists of the Gupta period - Aryabhatta (born in 476 AD,
Kusumpura, Bihar) provided a systematic treatment of the position of the planets
in space. He correctly posited the axial rotation of the earth, and inferred correctly
that the orbits of the planets were ellipses. He also correctly deduced that the
moon and the planets shined by reflected sunlight and provided a valid
explanation for the solar and lunar eclipses rejecting the superstitions and
mythical belief systems surrounding the phenomenon. Although Bhaskar I (born
Saurashtra, 6th C, and follower of the Asmaka school of science, Nizamabad,
Andhra ) recognized his genius and the tremendous value of his scientific
contributions, some later astronomers continued to believe in a static earth and
rejected his rational explanations of the eclipses. But in spite of such setbacks,
Aryabhatta had a profound influence on the astronomers and mathematicians who
followed him, particularly on those from the Asmaka school.

Mathematics played a vital role in Aryabhatta's revolutionary understanding of the

solar system. His calculations on pi, the circumferance of the earth (62832 miles)
and the length of the solar year (within about 13 minutes of the modern
calculation) were remarkably close approximations. In making such calculations,
Aryabhatta had to solve several mathematical problems that had not been
addressed before including problems in algebra (beej-ganit) and trigonometry
(trikonmiti).

Bhaskar I continued where Aryabhatta left off, and discussed in further detail
topics such as the longitudes of the planets; conjunctions of the planets with each
other and with bright stars; risings and settings of the planets; and the lunar
crescent. Again, these studies required still more advanced mathematics and
Bhaskar I expanded on the trigonometric equations provided by Aryabhatta, and
like Aryabhatta correctly assessed pi to be an irrational number. Amongst his most
important contributions was his formula for calculating the sine function which was
99% accurate. He also did pioneering work on indeterminate equations and
considered for the first time quadrilaterals with all the four sides unequal and none
of the opposite sides parallel.

Another important astronomer/mathematician was Varahamira (6th C, Ujjain) who

compiled previously written texts on astronomy and made important additions to
Aryabhatta's trigonometric formulas. His works on permutations and combinations
complemented what had been previously achieved by Jain mathematicians and
provided a method of calculation of nCr that closely resembles the much more
recent Pascal's Triangle. In the 7th century, Brahmagupta did important work in
enumerating the basic principles of algebra. In addition to listing the algebraic
properties of zero, he also listed the algebraic properties of negative numbers. His
work on solutions to quadratic indeterminate equations anticipated the work of
Euler and Lagrange.

Emergence of Calculus

In the course of developing a precise mapping of the lunar eclipse, Aryabhatta was
obliged to introduce the concept of infinitesimals - i.e. tatkalika gati to designate
the infinitesimal, or near instantaneous motion of the moon, and express it in the
form of a basic differential equation. Aryabhatta's equations were elaborated on by
Manjula (10th C) and Bhaskaracharya (12th C) who derived the differential of the
sine function. Later mathematicians used their intuitive understanding of
integration in deriving the areas of curved surfaces and the volumes enclosed by
them.

Applied Mathematics, Solutions to Practical Problems

Developments also took place in applied mathematics such as in creation of

trigonometric tables and measurement units. Yativrsabha's work Tiloyapannatti
(6th C) gives various units for measuring distances and time and also describes
the system of infinite time measures.

In the 9th C, Mahaviracharya ( Mysore) wrote Ganit Saar Sangraha where he

described the currently used method of calculating the Least Common Multiple
(LCM) of given numbers. He also derived formulae to calculate the area of an
ellipse and a quadrilateral inscribed within a circle (something that had also been
looked at by Brahmagupta) The solution of indeterminate equations also drew
considerable interest in the 9th century, and several mathematicians contributed
approximations and solutions to different types of indeterminate equations.

In the late 9th C, Sridhara (probably Bengal) provided mathematical formulae for
a variety of practical problems involving ratios, barter, simple interest, mixtures,
purchase and sale, rates of travel, wages, and filling of cisterns. Some of these
examples involved fairly complicated solutions and his Patiganita is considered an
advanced mathematical work. Sections of the book were also devoted to
arithmetic and geometric progressions, including progressions with fractional
numbers or terms, and formulas for the sum of certain finite series are provided.
Mathematical investigation continued into the 10th C. Vijayanandi (of Benares,
whose Karanatilaka was translated by Al-Beruni into Arabic) and Sripati of
Maharashtra are amongst the prominent mathematicians of the century.

The leading light of 12th C Indian mathematics was Bhaskaracharya who came
from a long-line of mathematicians and was head of the astronomical observatory
at Ujjain. He left several important mathematical texts including the Lilavati and
Bijaganita and the Siddhanta Shiromani, an astronomical text. He was the first to
recognize that certain types of quadratic equations could have two solutions. His
Chakrawaat method of solving indeterminate solutions preceded European
solutions by several centuries, and in his Siddhanta Shiromani he postulated that
the earth had a gravitational force, and broached the fields of infinitesimal
calculation and integration. In the second part of this treatise, there are several
chapters relating to the study of the sphere and it's properties and applications to
geography, planetary mean motion, eccentric epicyclical model of the planets, first
visibilities of the planets, the seasons, the lunar crescent etc. He also discussed
astronomical instruments and spherical trigonometry. Of particular interest are his
trigonometric equations: sin(a + b) = sin a cos b + cos a sin b; sin(a - b) = sin a
cos b - cos a sin b;
The Spread of Indian Mathematics

The study of mathematics appears to slow down after the onslaught of the Islamic
invasions and the conversion of colleges and universities to madrasahs. But this
was also the time when Indian mathematical texts were increasingly being
translated into Arabic and Persian. Although Arab scholars relied on a variety of
sources including Babylonian, Syriac, Greek and some Chinese texts, Indian
mathematical texts played a particularly important role. Scholars such as Ibn Tariq
and Al-Fazari (8th C, Baghdad), Al-Kindi (9th C, Basra), Al-Khwarizmi (9th C.
Khiva), Al-Qayarawani (9th C, Maghreb, author of Kitab fi al-hisab al-hindi), Al-
Uqlidisi (10th C, Damascus, author of The book of Chapters in Indian Arithmetic),
Ibn-Sina (Avicenna), Ibn al-Samh (Granada, 11th C, Spain), Al-Nasawi (Khurasan,
11th C, Persia), Al-Beruni (11th C, born Khiva, died Afghanistan), Al-Razi
(Teheran), and Ibn-Al-Saffar (11th C, Cordoba) were amongst the many who
based their own scientific texts on translations of Indian treatises. Records of the
Indian origin of many proofs, concepts and formulations were obscured in the later
centuries, but the enormous contributions of Indian mathematics was generously
acknowledged by several important Arabic and Persian scholars, especially in
Spain. Abbasid scholar Al-Gaheth wrote: " India is the source of knowledge,
thought and insight”. Al-Maoudi (956 AD) who travelled in Western India also
wrote about the greatness of Indian science. Said Al-Andalusi, an 11th C Spanish
scholar and court historian was amongst the most enthusiastic in his praise of
Indian civilization, and specially remarked on Indian achievements in the sciences
and in mathematics. Of course, eventually, Indian algebra and trigonometry
reached Europe through a cycle of translations, traveling from the Arab world to
Spain and Sicily, and eventually penetrating all of Europe. At the same time,
Arabic and Persian translations of Greek and Egyptian scientific texts become more
readily available in India.

The Kerala School

Although it appears that original work in mathematics ceased in much of Northern

India after the Islamic conquests, Benaras survived as a center for mathematical
study, and an important school of mathematics blossomed in Kerala. Madhava
(14th C, Kochi) made important mathematical discoveries that would not be
identified by European mathematicians till at least two centuries later. His series
expansion of the cos and sine functions anticipated Newton by almost three
centuries. Historians of mathematics, Rajagopal, Rangachari and Joseph
considered his contributions instrumental in taking mathematics to the next stage,
that of modern classical analysis. Nilkantha (15th C, Tirur, Kerala) extended and
elaborated upon the results of Madhava while Jyesthadeva (16th C, Kerala)
provided detailed proofs of the theorems and derivations of the rules contained in
the works of Madhava and Nilkantha. It is also notable that Jyesthadeva's
Yuktibhasa which contained commentaries on Nilkantha's Tantrasamgraha
included elaborations on planetary theory later adopted by Tycho Brahe, and
mathematics that anticipated work by later Europeans. Chitrabhanu (16th C,
Kerala) gave integer solutions to twenty-one types of systems of two algebraic
equations, using both algebraic and geometric methods in developing his results.
Important discoveries by the Kerala mathematicians included the Newton-Gauss
interpolation formula, the formula for the sum of an infinite series, and a series
notation for pi. Charles Whish (1835, published in the Transactions of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland) was one of the first Westerners to
recognize that the Kerala school had anticipated by almost 300 years many
European developments in the field.
Yet, few modern compendiums on the history of mathematics have paid adequate
attention to the often pioneering and revolutionary contributions of Indian
mathematicians. But as this essay amply demonstrates, a significant body of
mathematical works were produced in the Indian subcontinent. The science of
mathematics played a pivotal role not only in the industrial revolution but in the
scientific developments that have occurred since. No other branch of science is
complete without mathematics. Not only did India provide the financial capital for
the industrial revolution (see the essay on colonization) India also provided vital
elements of the scientific foundation without which humanity could not have
entered this modern age of science and high technology.

Notes:

Mathematics and Music: Pingala (3rd C AD), author of Chandasutra explored

the relationship between combinatorics and musical theory anticipating Mersenne
(1588-1648) author of a classic on musical theory.

Mathematics and Architecture: Interest in arithmetic and geometric series may

have also been stimulated by (and influenced) Indian architectural designs - (as in
temple shikaras, gopurams and corbelled temple ceilings). Of course, the
relationship between geometry and architectural decoration was developed to it's
greatest heights by Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arab and Indian architects in a
variety of monuments commissioned by the Islamic rulers.

Transmission of the Indian Numeral System: Evidence for the transmission of

the Indian Numeral System to the West is provided by Joseph (Crest of the
Peacock):-

Quotes Severus Sebokht (662) in a Syriac text describing the "subtle discoveries"
of Indian astronomers as being "more ingenious than those of the Greeks and the
Babylonians" and "their valuable methods of computation which surpass
description" and then goes on to mention the use of nine numerals.

Quotes from Liber abaci (Book of the Abacus) by Fibonacci (1170-1250): The nine
Indian numerals are ...with these nine and with the sign 0 which in Arabic is sifr,
any desired number can be written. (Fibonaci learnt about Indian numerals from
his Arab teachers in North Africa)

Influence of the Kerala School: Joseph (Crest of the Peacock) suggests that
Indian mathematical manuscripts may have been brought to Europe by Jesuit
priests such as Matteo Ricci who spent two years in Kochi (Cochin) after being
ordained in Goa in 1580. Kochi is only 70km from Thrissur (Trichur) which was
then the largest repository of astronomical documents. Whish and Hyne - two
European mathematicians obtained their copies of works by the Kerala
mathematicians from Thrissur, and it is not inconceivable that Jesuit monks may
have also taken copies to Pisa (where Galileo, Cavalieri and Wallis spent time), or
Padau (where James Gregory studied) or Paris (where Mersenne who was in touch
with Fermat and Pascal, acted as an agent for the transmission of mathematical
ideas).
 History of Ganit (Mathematics)

Introduction
Ganit (Mathematics) has been considered a very important subject since ancient times. We find very
elaborate proof of this in Vedah (which were compiled around 6000 BC). The concept of division,
addition et-cetera was used even that time. Concepts of zero and infinite were there. We also find roots
of algebra in Vedah. When Indian Beez Ganit reached Arab, they called it Algebra. Algebra was name
of the Arabic book that described Indian concepts. This knowledge reached to Europe from there. And
thus ancient Indian Beez Ganit is currently referred to as Algebra.

The book Vedang jyotish (written 1000 BC) has mentioned the importance of Ganit as follows-

Just as branches of a peacock and jewel-stone of a snake are placed at the highest place
of body (forehead), similarly position of Ganit is highest in all the branches of Vedah and
Shastras

has said the following-

What is the use of much speaking. Whatever object exists in this moving and nonmoving
world, can not be understood without the base of Ganit(Mathematics).

This fact was well known to intellectuals of India that is why they gave special importance to the
development of Mathematics, right from the beginning. When this knowledge was negligible in Arab
and Europe, India had acquired great achievements.

People from Arab and other countries used to travel to India for commerce. While doing commerce, side
by side, they also learnt easy to use calculation methods of India. Through them this knowledge reached
to Europe. From time to time many inquisitive foreigners visited India and they delivered this matchless
knowledge to their countries. This will not be exaggeration to say that till 12th century India was the
World Guru in the area of Mathematics.

The auspicious beginning on Indian Mathematics is in Aadi Granth (ancient/eternal book) Rigved. The
history of Indian Mathematics can be divided into 5 parts, as following.

1) Ancient Time (Before 500 BC)

a)Vedic Time (1000 BC-At least 6000 BC)

a)Later Vedic Time (1000 BC-500BC)

2) Pre Middle Time (500 BC- 400 AD)

3) Middle Time or Golden Age (400 AD - 1200 AD)

4) Later Middle Time (1200 AD - 1800 AD)

5) Current Time (After 1800 AD)

1) Ancient Time (Before 500 BC)

Ancient time is very important in the history of Indian Mathematics. In this time different branches of
Mathematics, such as Numerical Mathematics; Algebra; Geometrical Mathematics, were properly and
strongly established.

There are two main divisions in Ancient Time. Numerical Mathematics developed in Vedic Time and
Geometrical Mathematics developed in Later Vedic Time.

1a) Vedic Time (1000 BC-At least 6000 BC)

Numerals and decimals are cleanly mentioned in Vedah (Compiled at lease 6000 BC). There is a Richa
in Veda, which says the following-
 In the above mentioned Richa , Dwadash (12), Treeni (2), Trishat (300) numerals have
been used. This indicates the use of writing numerals based on 10.

In this age the discovery of ZERO and "10th place value method"(writing number based on 10)
is great contribution to world by India in the arena of Mathematics.

If "zero" and "10 based numbers" were not discovered, it would not have been possible today to write
big numbers.

The great scholar of America Dr. G. B. Halsteed has also praised this. Shlegal has also
accepted that this is the second greatest achievement of human race after the discovery
of Alphabets.

This is not known for certain that who invented "zero" and when. But it has been in use right from the
"vedic" time. The importance of "zero" and "10th place value method" is manifested by their wide
spread use in today's world. This discovery is the one that has helped science to reach its current status.

In the second section of earlier portion of Narad Vishnu Puran (written by Ved Vyas) describes
"mathematics" in the context of Triskandh Jyotish. In that numbers have been described which are ten
times of each other, in a sequence (10 to the power n). Not only that in this book, different methods of
"mathematics" like Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Addition, Fraction, Square, Square root, Cube
root et-cetera have been elaborately discussed. Problems based on these have also been solved.

This proves at that time various mathematical methods were not in concept stage, rather those were
getting used in a methodical and expanded manner.

"10th place value method" dispersed from India to Arab. From there it got transferred
to Western countries. This is the reason that digits from 1-9 are called "hindsa" by the
people of Arab. In western countries 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 are called Hindu-Arabic
Numerals.

1b) Later Vedic Time (1000 BC - 500 BC)

1b.1) Shulv and Vedang Jyotish Time

Vedi was very important while performing rituals. On the top of "Vedi" different type of
geomit(geometry: as you notice this word is derived from a Sanskrit word)) were made. To measure
those geometry properly, "geometrical mathematics" was developed. That knowledge was available in
form of Shulv Sutras (Shulv Formulae). Shulv means rope. This rope was used in measuring geometry
while making vedis.

In that time we had three great formulators-Baudhayan, Aapstamb and Pratyayan. Apart from them
Manav, Matrayan, Varah and Bandhul are also famous mathematician of that time.

The following excerpt from "Baudhayan Sulv Sutra (1000 BC)" is today known as Paithogorus Theorem
(amazing, isn't it ?)

In the above formula , the following has been said. In a Deerghchatursh (Rectangle) the
Chetra (Square) of Rajju (hypotenuse) is equal to sum of squares of Parshvamani (base)
and Triyangmani (perpendicular).

In the same book Baudhayan has discussed the method of making a square equal to difference of two
squares. He has also described method of making a square shape equal to addition of two squares. He
has also mentioned the formula to find the value (upto five decimal places) of a root (square root, cube
root ...) a number, according to that the square root of 2 can be found as below-
While Geometric Mathematics was developed for making Vedi in Yagya , in parallel there was a need to
find appropriate timing for Yagya. This need led to development of Geotish Shastra (Astrology) In
Geotish Shastra (Astrology) they calculated time, position and motion of stars. By reading the book
Vedanga Jyotish (At least 1000 BC) we find that astrologers knew about addition, multiplication,
subtraction et-cetera. For example please read below-

Multiply the date by 11, then add to it the "Bhansh" of "Parv" and then divide it by
"Nakshatra" number. In this way the "Nakshtra" of date should be told.

1b.2) Surya Pragyapti Time

We find elaborated description of Mathematics in the Jain literature. In fact the clarity and elaboration
by which Mathematics is described in Jain literature, indicates the tendency of Jain philosophy to
convey the knowledge to the language and level of common people (This is in deviation to the style of
Veda which told the facts indirectly).

Surya Pragyapti and Chandra Pragyapti (At least 500 BC) are two famous scriptures of Jain branch of
Ancient India. These describe the use of Mathematics.

Deergha Vritt (ellipse) is clearly described in the book titled Surya Pragyapti. "Deergha Vritt" means
the outer circle (Vritta) on a rectangle(Deergha), that was also known as Parimandal.
This is clear that Indians had discovered this at least 150 years before Minmax (150 BC). As this history
was not known to the West so they consider Minmax as the first time founder of ellipse.

This is worth mentioning that in the book Bhagvati Sutra (Before 300 BC) the word Parimandal has
been used for Deergha Vritt (ellipse). It has been described to have two types 1) Pratarparimandal and
2)Ghanpratarparimandal.

Jain Aacharyas contributed a lot in the development of Mathematics. These gurus have described
different branches of mathematics in a very through and interesting manner. They are examples too.

They have described fractions, algebraic equations, series, set theory, logarithm, and exponents ....
Under the set theory they have described with examples- finite, infinite, single sets. For logarithm they
have used terms like Ardh Aached , Trik Aached, Chatur Aached. These terms mean log base 2, log base
3 and log base 4 respectively. Well before Joan Napier (1550-1617 AD), logarithm had been invented
and used in India which is a universal truth.

Buddha literature has also given due importance to Mathematics. They have divided Mathematics under
two categories- 1) Garna (Simple Mathematics) and 2)Sankhyan (Higher Mathematics). They have
described numbers under three categories-1)Sankheya(countable),2)Asankheya(uncountable) and
3)Anant(infinite). Which clearly indicates that Indian Intellectuals knew "infinite number" very well.

2) Pre Middle Time (500 BC- 400 AD)

This is unfortunate that except for the few pages of the books Vaychali Ganit, Surya Siddhanta and
Ganita Anoyog of this time, rest of the writings of this time are lost. From the remainder pages of this
time and the literature of Aryabhatt, Brahamgupt et-cetera of Middle Time, we can conclude that in this
time too Mathematics underwent sufficient development.

Sathanang Sutra, Bhagvati Sutra and Anoyogdwar Sutra are famous books of this time. Apart from
these the book titled Tatvarthaadigyam Sutra Bhashya of Jain philosopher Omaswati (135 BC) and the
book titled Tiloyapannati of Aacharya (Guru) Yativrisham (176 BC) are famous writings of this time.

The book titled Vaychali Ganit discusses in detail the following -the basic calculations of mathematics,
the numbers based on 10, fraction, square, cube, rule of false position, interest methods, questions on
purchase and sale... The book has given the answers of the problems and also described testing methods.
Vachali Ganit is a proof of the fact that even at that time (300 BC) India was using various methods of
the current Numerical Mathematics. This is noticeable that this book is the only written Hindu Ganit
book of this time that was found as a few survived pages in village Vaychat Gram (Peshawar) in 1000
AD.

Sathanang Sutra has mentioned five types of infinite and Anoyogdwar Sutra has mentioned four types
of Pramaan (Measure). This Granth(book) has also described permutations and combinations which are
termed as Bhang and Vikalp .
This is worth mentioning that in the book Bhagvati Sutra describes the following. From n types taking
1-1,2-2 types together the combinations such made are termed as Akak, Dwik Sanyog and the value of
such combinations is mentioned as n(n-1)/2 which is used even today.

Roots of the Modern Trignometry lie in the book titled Surya Siddhanta . It mentions Zya(Sine), Otkram
Zya(Versesine), and Kotizya(Cosine). Please remember that the same word (Zia) changed to "Jaib" in
Arab. The translation of Jaib in Latin was done as "Sinus". And this "Sinus" became "Sine" later on.

This is worth mentioning that Trikonmiti word is pure Indian and with the time it changed to
Trignometry. Indians used Trignometry in deciding the position , motion et-cetera of the spatial planets.

In this time the expansion of Beezganit (When this knowledge reached Arab from India it became
Algebra)was revolutionary. The roots of Modern Algebra lie in the book Vaychali Ganit. In this book
while describing Isht Karma Isht Karm "Rule of False" as the origin of expansion of Algebra. Thus
Algebra is also gifted to world by Indians

Although almost all ancient countries used quantities of unknown values and using them found the
result of Numerical Mathematics. However the the expansion of Beez Ganit (Now known as Alzebra)
became possible when right denotion method was developed. The glory for this goes to Indians who for
the first time used Sanskrit Alphabet to denote unknown quantities. Infact expansion of Beez Ganit (Now
known as Alzebra) became possible when Indians realized that all the calculations of Numerical
Mathematics could be done by notations. And that +, - these signs can be used with those notations.

Indians developed rules of addition, subtraction, multiplication with these signs (+,-,x). In this context
we can not forget the contribution of great mathematician Brahmgupt (628 AD). He said-

The multiplication of a positive number with a negative number comes out to be a negative number and
multiplication of a positive number with a positive number comes out to be a positive number.
He further told:
When a positive number is divided by a positive number the result is a positive number and when a
positive number is divided by a negative number or a negative number is divided by a positive number
the result is a negative number.

Indians used notations for squares, cube and other exponents of numbers. Those notations are used
even today in the mathematics. They gave shape to Beezganit Samikaran(Algebraic Equations). They
made rules for transferring the quantities from left to right or right to left in an equation. Right from the
5th century AD, Indians majorly used aforementioned rules.

In the book titled Anoyogdwar Sutra has described some rules of exponents in Beez Ganit (Later the
name Algebra became more popular).

Thus it proves that Beez Ganit (Later the name Algebra became more popular) was well expanded by
the mathematicians of Pre-middle Time. This was more expanded in the Middle Time.

It is without doubt that like Aank Ganit (Numerical Mathematics) Beez Ganit (Later the name Algebra
became more popular) reached Arab from India. Arab mathematician Al-Khowarizmi (780-850 AD)
has described topics based on Indian Beez Ganit in his book titled "Algebr". And when it reached
Europe it was called Algebra.

As for as other countries are concerned we find that in the golden time of Greece Mathematics
there was no sign of Algebra with respect to modern concept of Algebra. In classical
period Greece people had ability to solve tough questions of Beez Ganit (Later the name
Algebra became more popular) but there all solutions were based on Geometrical
Mathematics. For the first time in Greece world, the concept of Beez Ganit (Later the
name Algebra became more popular) is described in a books of Diofantus (275 AD). By
that time Indians were far ahead. This is worth noting that the shape and form of
current Beez Ganit (Later the name Algebra became more popular) is originally Indian.

3) Middle Time or Golden Age 400 AD- 1200 AD)

This period is called golden age of Indian Mathematics. In this time great mathematicians like
Aryabhatt, Brahmgupt, Mahaveeracharya, Bhaskaracharya who gave a broad and clear shape to
almost all the branches of mathematics which we are using today. The principles and methods which
are in form of Sutra(formulae) in Vedas were brought forward with their full potential, in front of the
common masses. To respect this time India gave the name "Aryabhatt" to its first space satellite.
The following is the description about great mathematicians and their creations.

Aryabhatt (First) (490 AD)

He was a resident of Patna in India. He has described, in a very crisp and concise manner, the
important fundamental principles of Mathematics only in 332 Shlokas. His book is titled Aryabhattiya.
In the first two sections of Aryabhattiya, Mathematics is described. In the last two sections of
Aryabhattiya, Jyotish (Astrology) is described. In the first section of the book, he has described the
method of denoting big decimal numbers by the alphabets.

In the second section of the book Aryabhattiya we find difficult questions from topics such as Numerical
Mathematics, Geometrical Mathematics, Trignometry and Beezganit (Algebra). He also worked on
indeterminate equations of Beezganit (Later in West it was called Algebra). He was the first to use
Vyutkram Zia (Which was later known as Versesine in the West) in Trignometry. He calculated the
value of pi correct upto four decimal places.

He was first to find that the sun is stationary and the earth revolves around it. 1100 years later, this fact
was accepted by Coppernix of West in 16th century. Galileo was hanged for accepting this.

Bhaskar (First) (600 AD)

He did matchless work on Indeterminate equations. He expanded the work of Aryabhatt in his books
titled Mahabhaskariya, Aryabhattiya Bhashya and Laghu Bhaskariya .

Brahmgupt (628 AD)

His famous work is his book titled Brahm-sfut. This book has 25 chapters. In two chapters of the book,
he has elaborately described the mathematical principles and methods. He threw light on around 20
processes and behavior of Mathematics. He described the rules of the solving equations of Beezganit
(Algebra). He also told the solution of indeterminate equations with two exponent. Later Ailer in 1764
AD and Langrez in 1768 described the same.

Brahmgupt told the method of calculating the volume of Prism and Cone. He also described how to sum
a GP Series. He was the first to tell that when we divide any positive or negative number by zero it
becomes infinite.

Mahaveeracharya (850 AD)

He wrote the book titled "Ganit Saar Sangraha". This book is on Numerical Mathematics. He has
described the currently used method of calculating Least Common Multiple (LCM) of given numbers.
The same method was used in Europe later in 1500 AD. He derived formulae to calculate the area of
ellipse and quadrilateral inside a circle.

Shridharacharya (850 AD)

He wrote books titled "Nav Shatika", "Tri Shatika", "Pati Ganit". These books are on Numerical
Mathematics. His books on Beez Ganit (Algebra) are lost now, but his method of solving quadratic
equations is still used. This is method is also called "Shridharacharya Niyam". The great thing is that
currently we use the same formula as told by him. His book titled "Pati Ganit" has been translated into
Arabic by the name "Hisabul Tarapt".
Aryabhatta Second (950 AD)

He wrote a book titled Maha Siddhanta. This book discusses Numerical Mathematics (Ank Ganit) and
Algebra. It describes the method of solving algebraic indeterminate equations of first order. He was the
first to calculate the surface area of a sphere. He used the value of pi as 22/7.

Shripati Mishra (1039 AD)

He wrote the books titled Siddhanta Shekhar and Ganit Tilak. He worked mainly on permutations and
combinations. Only first section of his book Ganit Tilak is available.

Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravati (1100 AD)

His famous book is titled Gome-mat Saar. It has two sections. The first section is Karma Kaand and the
second section is titled Jeev Kaand. He worked on Set Theory. He described universal sets, all types of
mapping, Well Ordering Theorems et-cetera.One to One Mapping was used by Gailileo and George
Kanter(1845-1918) after many centuries.

Bhaskaracharya Second (1114 AD)

He has written excellent books namely Siddhanta Shiromani,Leelavati Beezganitam,Gola

Addhaya,Griha Ganitam and Karan Kautoohal. He gave final touch to Numerical Mathematics, Beez
Ganit (Algebra), and Trikonmiti (Trignometry).

The concepts which were in the form of formulae in Vedah. He has also described 20 methods and 8
behaviors of Brahamgupt.

Great Hankal has praised a lot Bhaskaracharya's Chakrawaat Method of solving indeterminate
equations of Beezganit (Algebra). This Bhaskaracharya's Chakrawaat Method was used by Ferment in
1667 to solve indeterminate equations.

In his book Siddhanta Shiromani, he has described in length the concepts of Trignometry. He has
described Sine, Cosine, Versesine,... Infinitesimal Calculus and Integration. He wrote that earth has
gravitational force.

3) Later Middle Period (1200 AD- 1800 AD)

Not much original work was done after Bhaskaracharya Second. Comments on ancient texts are the
main contribution of this period.

In his book (1500 AD), the mathematician Neel Kantha of Kerla has given the formula to calculate Sine
r-

The same formula is given in the Malyalam book Mookti Bhaas. These days this series is called
Greygeries Series. The following is a descriptions of the famous mathematicians of this period.

Narayan Pundit (1356 AD)

He wrote the book titled Ganit Kaumidi. This book deals with Permutations and Combinations,
Partition of Numbers, Magic Squares.
Neel Kanta (1587 AD)

He wrote the book titled Tagikani Kanti. This book deals with Zeotish Ganit(Astrological Mathematics).

Kamalakar (1608 AD)

He wrote a book titled Siddhanta Tatwa Viveka.

Samraat Jagannath (1731 AD)

He wrote two books titled Samraat Siddhanta and Rekha Ganit (Line Mathematics)

Apart from the above-mentioned mathematicians we have a few more worth mentioning
mathematicians. From Kerla we have Madhav (1350-1410 AD). Jyeshta Deva (1500-1610 AD) wrote a
book titled Ukti Bhasha. Shankar Paarshav (1500-1560 AD) wrote a book titled Kriya Kramkari.

3) Current Period (1800 AD- Current)

Please find below a list of famous mathematicians and their writings.

Nrisingh Bapudev Shastri (1831 AD)

He wrote books on Geometrical Mathematics, Numerical Mathematics and Trignometry.

Sudhakar Dwivedi (1831 AD)

He wrote books titled Deergha Vritta Lakshan(which means characteristics of ellipse), Goleeya Rekha
Ganit(which means sphere line mathematics),Samikaran Meemansa(which means analysis of equations)
and Chalan Kalan.

Ramanujam (1889 AD)

Ramanujam is a modern mathematics scholar. He followed the vedic style of writing mathematical
concepts in terms of formulae and then proving it. His intellectuality is proved by the fact it took all
mettle of current mathematicians to prove a few out of his total 50 theorems.

Swami Bharti Krishnateerthaji Maharaj (1884-1960 AD)

He wrote the book titled Vedic Ganit.

Real Life In Mathematics
There are lots of real uses of mathematics in our life. All the mathematics terms base on counting.
Today our all businesses base on counting. There is no concept of business without mathematics.
Before the mathematics rules people use barter system. They give there goods to others and take the
goods from other people. But this system can not continue longer when need of humans increased day
by day.We cannot deny the importance of mathematics in our daily life. When we got to shop to
purchase some thing we need mathematics.When some one comes to our shop to purchase some thing
we need calculations.But the most important use of mathematics in our technologies can not be
contradicted. Our most of the system base on computers and all the computer technology are stands on
mathematical rules. All computers work on binary code, code of zero and one.
So we cannot deny the importance of mathematics in real life.

Mathematics Applied to Physics and Engineering

• Applications and Use of the Inverse Functions. Examples on how to aplly and use
inverse functions in real life situations and solve problems in mathematics.
• Maximize Volume of a Box. How to maximize the volume of a box using the first
derivative of the volume.
• Problem Solving: Distance, Rate, Time. This applet helps you better understand the link
between the visual and graphical approaches to the time, rate, distance problem and its
algebraic solution.
• Use First Derivative to Minimize Area of Pyramid. The first derivative is used to
minimize the surface area of a pyramid with a square base. A detailed solution to the
problem is presented.
• Use Derivatives to solve problems: Distance-time Optimization. A problem to minimize
(optimization) the time taken to walk from one point to another is presented.
• Use Derivatives to solve problems: Area Optimization. A problem to maximize
(optimization) the area of a rectangle with a constant perimeter is presented.
• Maximize Power Delivered to Circuits. The first derivative is used to maximize the
power delivered to a load in electronic circuits.
• Projectile problem. Explore the projectile problem using an applet and find algebraic
solutions to problems with the help of the same applet.
• Cycloid, Rotation. This applet helps you explore the cycloid which is the curve traced by
a fixed point on the circumference of a circle as the circle rolls along a line in a plane.
• Amplitude Modulation. This is simple example where mathematics is used in
communication systems.
• Standing Waves. An applet to explore standing waves.
• Mathematics applied to antennas. Free tutorials on antennas to better understand the
properties such as radiation patterns, propagation and polarization of these systems.
• Matrices Applied to Electric Circuits. A tutorial on how to apply matrices to model
electric circuits.
• applications of Differential Equations. Several examples where differential equations are
used to model real life situations.

Mathematics in Computer Technology

• What is Boolean Algebra. An introduction to Boolean algebra is presented.
• Introduction to Binary Numbers. An introduction to discuss the advantages of using
binary numbers in computers.
• Convert Binary to Decimal and Decimal to Binary Numbers. A tutorial on how to convert
decimal to binary and binary to decimal numbers with full explanations, exercises and
answers.
• Addition of Binary Numbers. A tutorial on how to add binary numbers, along with
examples, exercises and answers is presented.
• Multiplication of Binary Numbers. A tutorial on how to multiply binary numbers, along
with examples, exercises and answers is presented.
Math and Real Life: a Brief Introduction to Fractional Dimensions
Mathematics and real life have not been very good friends throughout history. Even the Greeks,

supposed geniuses of all things geometrical, were content to deal with undefined "points" and "planes,"

compensating for their apparent weirdness by making up things called "triangles" and forcing a guy

named Pythagoras to come up with a theorem about the three-cornered pests which would supposedly

make life better for everyone. It did, but only because it meant the mathematicians had something to

talk about and were thus kept off the streets and out of trouble. Regardless, the division between a

supposedly perfect, measureable triangle and the gritty, rough, and at times outrageously uncouth

world was distinct from the start.

Math became a lot like philosophy, but without the fun stuff that had to do with talking about leaves or

basketweaving. In lieu of that sort of nonsense, they substituted their own new brand of the same called

arithmetic, which had a lot to do with those triangles and things like "log," "dy/dx," or "x," depending on

the temperment of the mathematician at the time. Most mathematicians dealt in arithmatic, and

geometry, which was considered by some people to be (gasp) slightly useful, was relegated to a role in

a weird, perfect, whole-dimensional fantasy, where it would hopefully remain safe from inquiring minds.

Math was quite content in its dream world, preferring to split with all things Earthly by dealing with lines

and objects and curves that didn't really exist until mathematicians said so. That was the way it was,

and there was no reason to change. Normal people found problems with this, wondering how one could

use math in real life situations where perfectly straight lines and absolutely accurate whole-number

measurements were not easy to come by (or, in fact, impossible, but we're getting ahead of ourselves),

but the mathematicians would merely laugh their cocky little laughs, turn their heads, and the normal

person would walk away frustrated with mathematics, looking for a larger hammer (the traditional way

of solving "real world situations").

This old math was centered around the idea of dimensions. Nobody except the really elite math geeks

knew exactly what a dimension was, but it was generally accepted that figures either existed in 0

dimensions like points, 1 dimension like lines, 2 dimensions like squares and sections of planes, or 3

dimensions like cubes and spheres. Later, mathematicians would find out why these numbers had been

selected and make it look like there was reason to it in the beginning, but there was no reason to argue

about it because that was all things could be.

The entrenched math monarchy, however, had some problems in keeping normal people away from

their odd creations. Early in this century, a normal guy disguised as a mathematician named Cantor

decided to pull a little trick on mathematicians everywhere. He challenged them to imagine a thing

constructed in a curious, recursive manner.

Cantor took a line segment of length x.

He decided then it would be fun to take out the middle third as his first step in building his little object.

Then, he divided the remaining segments by three as well, taking out the middle thirds of those.

After that was all done, he got tired. "Keep doing that forever," he said, and went to get some aspirin

for the headache all the thinking had given him. The problem with infinite things is that we can't actually

calculate each step, but theoretically the end result would be point-like things clustered around a few

areas.

Mathematicians, not exactly brain surgeons if you catch my drift, were their cocky selves, not getting

the point and laughing at poor Cantor. Then they were shocked as two startling facts became apparent:

1. If one kept doing that forever, he wouldn't end up with a finite set of zero-dimensional. There

would be an infinite number of them, and they weren't really points but bits of a line segment cut

to lengths of infinite smallness.

2. This random collection of points was not a one-dimensional line either, as we'd begun by cutting

it up, and infinite iteration of that process would never yield anything capable of having length (a

one-dimensional measurement).

So in a lower dimension Cantor's Dust (as it came to be known) was infinite when measured, but in

the next possible step up it had a one-dimensional measure of zero.

Mathematicians did the wise thing and shut Cantor up as quickly as possible, denouncing his

creation as a useless oddity.

A fellow named Sierpinski, not to be outdone, created his own little figure made from a solid, two-

dimensional triangle

with the triangle formed by the midpoints of its sides taken out
and so on

and so on.

This was equally troublesome.

1. It was obviously a bit more than some lines.

2. If its area was being subtracted from by a certain amount that got smaller and

smaller, the area left approached a certain fraction of the original area, so there was definite

area involved. But, endless iteration of the middle-triangle removal process would result in an

increase of the length needed to enclose the increasingly divided area without bound. Infinite

length was enclosing a finite area, not something mathematicians (who were locked in 0, 1, 2,

or 3 dimensions as we must remember) were too keen on.

This figure, despite its pleasing look and the fun involved in approximating it to greater accuracy

during a boring class, was also swept under the mathematical carpet. The world of zeroes, ones,

twos, and threes was safe again.

Then, in 1924, came Benoit Mandelbrot, a Polish-born son of Lithuanian Jewish parents who turned

the mathematical world on its head.

Mandelbrot's uncle Szolem liked to hang out with a bunch of mathematicians called the "bourbaki"

in Paris. Mandelbrot's family sensed what would develop into grand-scale anti-Semitism and took

him to France, leaving Mandelbrot with little to do but drink wine and eat cheese. He did not learn

multiplication tables past fives or the alphabet, and maintains that he cannot use phone books to

this very day.

His experiences with the bourbaki were worthwhile in that they led to his matriculation in elite

Parisian institutions. In these schools, however, he astonished his instructors by not being able to

show work for many of his solutions. His curious study habits were not the results of cheating (as

far as we can tell) as much as they were the product of his mind: Mandelbrot solved traditional

equations by turning them into pictures in his visually-oriented mind. On an entrance exam for a

class, he passed with the highes score despite being able to do virtually no algebra.

His mind was clearly capable of mathematical thought on a high level, but it was a different type

than the Old World bourbaki style. He soon realized he would have to conceal his true nature until

after obtaining a degree, after which he fled to the United States.

He began work at an IBM research center and began to formulate his own definition of

dimensionality, sparked mostly by the idea of self-similarity over an infinite scale, which had been

inspired by the ideas of the philospher Liebniz and immortalized in the following verse by Jonathan

Swift in 1733.

So, Nat'ralists observe,

a Flea hath smaller Fleas that on him prey,
And these have smaller Fleas to bit 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum.

The idea behind self-similarity as applied to dimensions was that one could take a little bit of a

bigger mathematical figure that, when enlarged or duplicated, would exactly resemble the original

figure. It is this relationship between enlargement and duplication that determines the

dimensionality of an object.

Let us first consider the one-dimensional line of length x.

and let's divide x by two and see what sort of things we get.

If we took the line on the left and wanted to make a copy of the original object, we could enlarge it

by a factor of 2 (2 * x/2 = x) or add 2 copies of it together (x/2 + x/2 = x).

With this conveniently left hanging for a second, let's look at the two dimensional square of side

length x.
Let's divide this x by two and see what sort of things we get.

If we took one of the small boxes and wanted to build our original box again, we could enlarge it by

a factor of 2 (x/2 * 2 = x) or add 4 copies of it together, letting the areas add up to that of the

original square (4(x2/4) = x2).

Now let's look at a cube of side length x.

And divide its side length by two.

If we wanted to construct the original cube from a part of side length x/2, we could once again just

double its side length (magnify it) by 2. If we wanted to add boxes together, however, we would

need 8 of them.

Let's look at the relationship between enlargement and duplication in these three examples:

Figure Enlargement Duplication Known Dimension

line 2 2 1

square 2 4 (2 * 2) 2

cube 2 8 (2 * 2 * 2) 3

Extension of this would reveal that enlargement by n results in duplication by n for a one-

dimensional object, n2 for a two dimensional object, and n3 for a three-dimensional thing.

Dimensionality looks like the power you raise the enlargement factor to in order to get the

duplication factor, or as nerds know it, the logarithm with the base of the enlargement amount of

the duplication factor. It's time for a little algebra to take over, letting d = the dimension, b =

enlargement factor, and c = duplication amount. Looking at our data, it would look like logb c = d.

We know how to deal with odd bases (the property used is: logb c = logn c / logn b, or the log of an

odd base of a number is the log of the number in a more friendly base divided by the friendly log of

the odd base), making the expression log c/log b = d. It would appear as if the dimensionality is

the logarithm of the duplication amount divided by that of the enlargement factor. For whole-

number-dimensional things, notice how the expression is easily simplified.

line: log (21)/log (2) = 1 log(2)/log(2) = 1 (= dimension 1)

square: log (22)/log (2) = 2 log(2)/log(2) = 2 (= dimension 2)

cube: log (23)/log (2) = 3 log(2)/log(2) = 3 (= dimension 3)

For the above to make sense we must remember that the logarithm of anything raised to a power

is the same as the logarithm of that thing times a coefficient numerically equal to the power, or

logb an = n logb a.

With this new concept in mind, let's look at the Cantor dust again-- a Cantor dust created out of a

line segment of length n, simplified to an extent we can easily deal with (it has only been "middle-

thirded" once).

Let's take one of those dust segments of length n/3 (keep in mind its middle third would also be

missing, and the middle thirds of what's left over, and so on in an actual representation of the

dust). If we wanted it to look like the original, we'd multiply its length by a factor of three. If we

wanted to get it like the length n dust through addition of n/3 dusts, we'd only have to add two of

them together.

So our dimensionality? It cannot be simplified using our property of logs with exponentiation. It is

merely log(2)/log(3), or about 0.631 -- a "fractional dimension" existing somewhere between 0 and

1, as befits something a little more than a point (dimension 0) but a little less than a line

(dimension 1).

Our Sierpinski triangle's mysteries can be revealed in the same way.

As we can see, for each enlargement by two, we have to duplicate our thing by three. Its

properties will be neither infinite nor zero in dimension log(3)/log(2) or dimension 1.585

(approximately).

Mandelbrot's study of this led to his proving that a fourth dimension exists-- a fourth dimensional

composed of all the fractional ones in between.

The obvious question arises: how do infinite triangles or something that looks like a line passed

through a Salad Shooter have anything more to do with real life than "perfect" objects, despite the

obvious Salad Shooter metaphor?

The answer is in a somewhat uncommon idea: we are existing in these fractional dimensions

(which are all under the fourth-dimension umbrella). "Real life" as we know it is in the fourth

dimension, as we are fourth dimensional creatures, traveling at a constant rate and direction in the

fourth-dimensional "space-time continuum." Time passes for us, and time passes for nature -- and

nature has a lot more to do with infinite triangles then one might think at first.

Take the atlantic shoreline of the United States. On a globe, it could look anywhere from two to

four thousand miles long, depending on how smooth the coastline was forced to be due to the low

detail level of a world map. A smaller desk map of the Atlantic seaboard might show some of the

larger bays, making the coastline much longer though the actual distance between the northern

and southern boundaries of the coast remained the same. A human being walking along could not

leave out most major inlets or curves where the water meets the sand, and would thus travel an

even greater distance than indicated on the desk map. An ant would have to walk around every

small tiny inlet as he could not walk over them, making many more turns and direction changes--

resulting in an even longer voyage (in terms of distance, though I'm sure it would take him a while

longer as well). Once again, the distance between point a and b has not changed, but the level of

detail has.

An electron traveling the same path would have to maneuver his way around land atoms on one

side and sea atoms on the other making thousands of millions of tiny turns and shifts, and could

not trace over the coast as easily as the ant had supposedly done tediously only a moment before.

What about something that is an electron to an electron, a flea's flea as spoken of in the verse?

Assuming that nature is infinitely detailed (which it is), the shoreline between point A and point B is

infinite, though the area bounded by the water is finite. A shoreline exists in a fractional dimension.

There is no reason for dimensionality to be constant, either. A roll of tinfoil exhibits fractional

behavior-- when a sheet is at first torn off, its dimensionality is a little above 2.0. If crumpled and

then flattened out, its new complexity results in a dimensionality closer to 3.0. This is another

property of dimensionality, defined as how "space-filling" an object is. If our Cantor dust fills .63 of

a 1-dimensional plane, we can assume that something of a greater closeness to one would fill the

space a little better, getting us closer to 1.0.

Interesting things result from fractional dimensions and self-similarity. Euclidean geometry,

concerned mainly with perfect abstracts nonexistent in nature, had no way of describing items in

our everyday lives.

Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not

smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.

-- Benoit Mandelbrot

Many self-similar items (easily described and manipulated in fractional geometry) do exist in our

world, however-- the figure of a mountain or ridgeline is often reflected in smaller formations of

rock along its base. The bronchi of the human lung exhibit self-similarity over at least 15 levels.

Ferns frequently exhibit self-similarity, as a branch may have fronds exactly resembling small

versions of itself. Many Asian styles of art thrive on repetition of simple, self-similar shapes, often

creating patterns of harmonious beauty. A tree, for example, can be minimalistically yet

realistically implied by drawing with only small arcs of varying-radius circles. Peaks and bends in

the path of a long river are echoed in the sand formations along a single bank. It is suggested that

the secret to encoding so much information in DNA is in self-similarity.

Mandelbrot put this new infinite-dimensional consciousness to work. He found that seemingly

random errors and failures in data-transmitting cable at IBM, a potentially dangerous problem,

occurred in time according to the fractional dimension described by the Cantor dust. In a now-

famous study of the fluctuations of cotton prices (the only commodity on which reliable records had

been kept for years), he realized that seemingly random jumps and drops in prices followed a large

pattern, which was then repeated over a greater scale. While patterns of this sort are common to

statistics, their application to economics and their fractal-dimension nature were truly

revolutionary, leaving economists speechless and baffling even Mandelbrot himself for quite some

time.

Mandelbrot's adaptation of the dimension into a flexible entity has contributed a great wealth of

information to the progress of mathematics as we know it. In the newer forms of math dealing with

the fourth dimension and all the fractional ones around it, we see a way to describe the chaotic

elements of nature and our universe.

Fractal geometry is not just a chapter of mathematics, but one that helps Everyman to see the

same world differently.

-- Benoit Mandelbrot

This paper was written by a friend of mine in 1995. Since his current work is completely unrelated,

he has asked to have his name removed.