Number, the father of natural science, originated from the symbols used by primitive humans to count, forming the symbol "number" of natural numbers, which is the greatest invention of mankind.
About 5000 years ago, Egyptian priests wrote digital symbols on a papyrus made of reeds, while Mesopotamian priests wrote them on soft clay tablets.
They still use a single stroke to represent "-",but also use other symbols to represent "+"or larger natural numbers; They use these dashes and symbols repeatedly to represent the numbers they need.
In BC 1500, the Inca people in Peru, South America (part of the Indians) used to "tie ropes and count"-tie a knot on the rope every time a bundle of crops was harvested, and record the harvest with the number of knots.
The function of "knot" is the same as that of mark, and it is also used to represent natural numbers. According to the Book of Changes, people in ancient China also "ruled the country by knots", that is, tied a knot on a rope to record events.
Later, it was changed to "book deed", that is, it was carved on bamboo or wood with a knife, and a pen represented "one". Today, we in China often use the word "positive" to count. Each stroke represents "one".
History of mathematics development:
The development history of mathematics can be roughly divided into four periods.
The first period: the formation period of mathematics, which is the period when human beings establish the most basic mathematical concepts. Since counting, human beings have gradually established the concept of natural numbers, simple calculation methods, and recognized the most basic and simplest geometric forms. Arithmetic and geometry are not separated.
The second period: elementary mathematics, that is, constant mathematics period. The most basic and simple achievements in this period constitute the main content of middle school mathematics.
This period began in the 5th century BC, maybe earlier, and lasted for about two thousand years until17th century. This period gradually formed the main branches of elementary mathematics: arithmetic, geometry and algebra.
The third period: the period of variable mathematics. Variable mathematics came into being in17th century, and has gone through two decisive and significant steps: the first step is the generation of analytic geometry; The second step is calculus, which is to study the differential of functions in higher mathematics.
Integral and the branch of mathematics related to concepts and applications. It is the basic subject of mathematics. The content mainly includes limit, differential calculus, integral calculus, equation and its application. Differential calculus, including the calculation of derivatives, is a set of theories about the rate of change.
It makes the function, velocity, acceleration and curve slope can be discussed with a set of universal symbols. Integral calculus, including the calculation of integral, provides a set of general methods for defining and calculating area and volume.
The fourth issue: modern mathematics. The period of modern mathematics began at the beginning of19th century. The beginning of the modern stage of mathematics development is characterized by profound changes in all foundations-algebra, geometry and analysis.