The unknown
Dec 02, 2020
Meditation around Mint Tea
Search for an Unknown around Mint Tea
Around Mint Tea , we invite you to meditate on the search for an Unknown ... the one you are looking for every day ... to solve the simple or complex equations of life.
In order to simplify these equations, the unknown has changed to the letter "X" over time. Why?
Let's take advantage of this meditation around Mint Tea , to find the true story of the Unknown who is hidden behind the "X" of our equations.
If the unknown were an Unknown, we could have named it "i" to simplify it in solving our algebraic problems.
And if like us, you are wondering why the letter "x" is used to denote the unknown in algebraic equations, then this is the story we love to tell on the occasion of a ceremony. Mint Tea .
A brief history review
Algebra originated in the Arab-Islamic world, where the mathematical sciences and astronomy flourished from the 8th century onwards.
At that time, Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد ,) was the flourishing capital of the world. For about 500 years, Baghdad has attracted the cream of the crop of intellectuals and culture, a reputation acquired during the reigns of some of its most famous caliphs (Al-Rashid, Al-Ma'mun).
Then one of the richest cities in the world, Baghdad was home to Bayt Al-Hikma ( in Arabic: بيت الحكمة ), the House of Wisdom - an academy of knowledge that attracted intellectuals from all over the world. From mathematics and astronomy to biology, ecology and zoology, the academy was a major center of research, reflection and philosophical and intellectual debate.
The Master of Mathematics
Among the forgotten scholars of history, Muhammad Ibn Mūsā al-Khuwārizmī (in Arabic: محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي), generally called Al-Khwârismî (780 - 850) is an astronomer, geographer and one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his time.
Among his many works, two have bequeathed, in addition, the French words " algebra" and " algorithm" . In his book on algebra - Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala (in Arabic: ' الكتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر
"I have written on the subject of restoration and comparison an abridged book encompassing the most subtle and noble of calculus that people need in their inheritances, in their donations, in their shares , in their judgments, in their trades and in all the transactions which there is between them in connection with the surveying of the grounds, the digging of the canals, geometry and other things relating to its aspects and its arts (…).»Al-Khwarizmi
And the work at the origin of the word " algorithm " introduces the position system with Arabic numerals (actually Indian numerals) as well as the number zero - in Arabic: صفر " Sifr ", literally " vide ", which in French gives the word " figure "
The word " algorithm" would come from a Latin translation error ( 12 th century) of its book, " Liber Algoritmi de numero Indorum" , which should read " Al-Khwarizmi's book about Indian numbers ". The second word is, in fact, the Latin transcription of Al-Khwarizmi.
So it is in memory of the founding father of modern mathematics, whose own name transmuted "algorithm" that we still use this word to refer to walkthroughs to solve a problem.
In algebraic equations, we solve equations to obtain the value of the unknown. Arab-Muslim mathematicians like A l-Khwarizmi, sought, in a very pragmatic way, " Shay " (in Arabic شيء ) literally " the thing". " Shay " was first translated into Greek as Xi, then abbreviated to Latin "x", as our Western alphabet was formed.
We would so much like to continue on the history of alphabets to introduce you to the perfect language with regard to the perfect number sequence. We are preparing this next meditation for you around a new Mint Tea .
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