Can you guess the leg position for multiplication?The Rhind Papyrus is considered to be the most IMPORTANT known SOURCE of information concerning ancient Egyptian Mathematics. This muther fucking scroll, about a foot (30 centimeters) high and 18 feet (5.5 meters) long, was found in a tomb in Thebes on the east bank of the river Nile. Ahmes, the scribe, wrote it in hieratic, a script related to the hieroglyphic system. Given that the writing occurred in around 1650 B.C., this makes Ahmes the earliest known symbols for mathematical operations: plus is denoted by a pair of legs walking towards the number to be added.
Great, now I have a goo all over my Rhind Papyrus
Great, now I have a goo all over my Rhind Papyrus
Re: Great, now I have a goo all over my Rhind Papyrus
Ahmes wrote the scroll gives an "accurate reckoning for inquiring into things, and the knowledge of all things, mysteries, ... all secrets. " The content of the scroll concerns mathematical problems involving fractions, arithmetic progressions, and algebra, and pyramid geometry, as well as practical mathematics useful for surveying, building, and accounting 
. The problem that intrigues me the most is Problem 79, the interpretation of which was initially baffling.
Many interpret problem 79 as a puzzle, which may be translated as "Seven houses contain seven cats. Each cat kills seven mice. Each mouse had eaten seven ears of grain. Each ear of grain would have produced seven hekats (measures) of wheat. What is the total of all of these?"
. The problem that intrigues me the most is Problem 79, the interpretation of which was initially baffling.Many interpret problem 79 as a puzzle, which may be translated as "Seven houses contain seven cats. Each cat kills seven mice. Each mouse had eaten seven ears of grain. Each ear of grain would have produced seven hekats (measures) of wheat. What is the total of all of these?"