The history of ancient numeral systems is a fascinating journey through time, reflecting the needs and advancements of various civilizations in counting, measuring, and recording information. Here’s an overview of some of the most significant numeral systems from ancient history: ### 1. **Prehistoric Counting** - **Tally Marks**: The earliest form of counting likely involved simple counting techniques, such as tally marks on bones or stones. These marks were used to keep track of quantities, such as livestock or days.
As of my last knowledge update in October 2023, "Numbers" (or "Numb3rs") is an American television series that aired from 2005 to 2010. It follows an FBI agent and his mathematical genius brother who uses mathematical concepts and techniques to help solve crimes. Regarding specific details about Season 5, this season premiered on January 23, 2009, and consisted of 16 episodes.
"When Worlds Collide" is a science fiction novella written by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, published in 1933. The story revolves around the impending collision of Earth with another planet, prompting a race against time to save humanity.
A metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or fraction of that unit. In the metric system, prefixes are used to simplify the representation of large or small quantities. Each prefix corresponds to a specific power of ten, making it easier to express quantities that would otherwise involve large numbers or decimals.
Finger-counting refers to the practice of using one's fingers to represent numbers or perform calculations. It has been used across various cultures and throughout history as a simple and effective way to keep track of numbers, perform basic arithmetic, or aid in counting tasks. Different cultures have developed various finger-counting systems, often influenced by their counting systems (like decimal, binary, etc.).
Numerals are symbols or characters used to represent numbers. They can be categorized into several types, including: 1. **Arabic numerals**: The most common numeric system used today, consisting of the digits 0 to 9. For example, the number "123" uses Arabic numerals.
Aksharapalli is a form of traditional Indian educational institution that focuses on imparting knowledge through specific pedagogical methods, often incorporating spiritual or philosophical aspects. The term "Akshara" generally refers to letters or syllables, while "Palli" means a place or village, suggesting an environment conducive to learning. Additionally, Aksharapalli can be associated with specific educational programs or schools in India that emphasize cultural, ethical, and spiritual education alongside conventional subjects.
Babylonian cuneiform numerals refer to the numerical system used by the ancient Babylonians, who wrote in cuneiform script on clay tablets. The Babylonians developed one of the earliest systems of writing, and their numeral system is particularly notable for its use of a base 60 (sexagesimal) system, which is different from the base 10 (decimal) system we commonly use today.
The Hindu–Arabic numeral system is the ten-digit numerical system that we commonly use today, consisting of the digits from 0 to 9. This system is also referred to as the decimal system because it is based on powers of ten. The origins of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system can be traced back to ancient India, where the numbers were first developed by Indian mathematicians around the 6th century.
Numerical analysis is a branch of mathematics that focuses on developing and analyzing algorithms for approximating solutions to mathematical problems that cannot be solved exactly. It involves the study of numerical methods for solving a variety of mathematical problems in fields such as calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, and optimization. Numerical analysts aim to create effective, stable, and efficient algorithms that can handle errors and provide reliable results.
Anderson acceleration is a method used to accelerate the convergence of fixed-point iterations, particularly in numerical methods for solving nonlinear equations and problems involving iterative algorithms. It is named after its creator, Donald G. Anderson, who introduced this technique in the context of solving systems of equations. The main idea behind Anderson acceleration is to combine previous iterates in a way that forms a new iterate, often using a form of linear combination of past iterates.
Approximation refers to the process of finding a value or representation that is close to an actual value but not exact. It is often used in various fields, including mathematics, science, and engineering, when exact values are difficult or impossible to obtain. Approximations are useful in simplifying complex problems, making calculations more manageable, and providing quick estimates.
Affine arithmetic is a mathematical framework used for representing and manipulating uncertainty in numerical calculations, particularly in computer graphics, computer-aided design, and reliability analysis. It extends the concept of interval arithmetic by allowing for more flexible and precise representations of uncertain quantities. ### Key Features of Affine Arithmetic: 1. **Representation of Uncertainty**: - Affine arithmetic allows quantities to be represented as affine combinations of variables.
The Bellman pseudospectral method is a technique used in numerical analysis to solve optimal control problems, particularly those described by the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. This method combines elements from optimal control theory and spectral methods, which are used for solving differential equations. ### Key Components: 1. **Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equation**: This is a nonlinear partial differential equation that characterizes the value function of an optimal control problem.
Boole's rule, also known as Boole's theorem or Boole's quadrature formula, is a numerical integration method that can be used to approximate the definite integral of a function. It is particularly useful for numerical integration of tabulated data points and is based on the idea of fitting a polynomial to the data and then integrating that polynomial. The rule is named after the mathematician George Boole, known for his contributions to algebra and logic.
Chebyshev nodes are specific points used in polynomial interpolation to minimize errors, particularly in polynomial interpolation problems such as those involving the Runge phenomenon. They are the roots of the Chebyshev polynomial of the first kind, defined on the interval \([-1, 1]\).
The Clenshaw algorithm is a numerical method used for evaluating finite sums, particularly those that arise in the context of orthogonal polynomials, such as Chebyshev or Legendre polynomials. It is particularly efficient for evaluating linear combinations of these polynomials at a given point. The algorithm allows for the computation of polynomial series efficiently by reducing the complexity of the evaluation.
Composite methods in structural dynamics refer to a set of analytical or numerical techniques used to study the dynamic behavior of composite materials or structures. Composites are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties, which remain separate and distinct within the finished structure. In the context of structural dynamics, composite methods can involve the following: 1. **Modeling Techniques**: Advanced modeling techniques are used to simulate the behavior of composite materials under dynamic loads.
Discretization error refers to the error that arises when a continuous model or equation is approximated by a discrete model or equation. This type of error is common in numerical methods, simulations, and computer models, particularly in fields like computational physics, engineering, and finance.
Isotonic regression is a non-parametric regression technique used to find a best-fit line or curve that preserves the order of the data points. The objective of isotonic regression is to find a piecewise constant function that minimizes the sum of squared deviations from the observed values while ensuring that the fitted values are non-decreasing (i.e., they maintain the order of the independent variable).

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact