On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:54:06 +0100, Kassen wrote:
> I'd like to know how those are operated, if I understand it correctly
> the way the symbols (beats in this case) are manipulated to input the
> question is also the way the calculation itself is performed leading
> to a speed increase compared to typing into a computer and reading
> back the answer?
The abacus is a pretty efficient calculator. For a good
preseentation/analysis of it all, try:
Karl Menninger, _Number Words and Number Symbols: A Cultural History of
Numbers_, MIT Press, 1977
I also have some essays about doing math with Roman Numerals, which
isn't as impossible as it seems. ;-)
Best, Charles
Received on Fri Jan 04 2008 - 16:56:28 GMT