What is the oldest math textbook in the world?
In ancient Egypt, the absolute power had a group of experts to rule the country.
They were soldiers to fight foreign enemies, officials to enforce the Pharaoh's orders,
and priests to rule according to God's will.
And in order to maintain absolute power, they did not want knowledge to spread widely.
The custodian of this knowledge was Ahmes, who worked as a scribe in an Egyptian temple.
The 'Ames Papyrus', compiled by Ames around 1650 BC,
was created by purchasing papyrus in Luxor, Egypt in 1858.
It is named after the Scottish antiquarian Alexander Henry Rhind.
It is also the oldest math book.
This document was written in the 33rd year of the reign of the Hyksos king Apophis.
There are 84 mathematical problems recorded, including areas of isosceles triangles,
equilateral trapezoids, and calculation of fractions. (Ancient Egypt)
Problem 79 is presented in its most literal interpretation.
But this problem is one of the most interesting in Papyrus.
Did you find out what it represents?
Problem 79 involves a situation where there are 7 cats living in each of 7 houses,
and shows that each cat ate a total of 7 mice, and each ate 7 ears of grain.
The grain was incorrectly marked as 2301, but considering that all other values were correct,
it appears to have been a simple notation mistake.
This problem is one of the most interesting in Papyrus.
The setup and solution involve finite geometric series.
One of Ahmes' solutions to the sum indicates an understanding of finite geometric series.
Ahmes calculates the sum directly, but also suggests a simple multiplication to get the same answer: "2801 x 7 = 19607."
This means that there was an understanding of finite geometric series almost 3,800 years ago.
Looking at the golden ratio contained in the pyramid,
the construction of King Khufu's pyramid, and the numerous mathematical knowledge shown in the Ames Papyrus,
we can see how advanced ancient Egyptian mathematics was.
We will come back next time with good materials that will help your math knowledge and thinking skills.
This was the math knowledge channel ktgmath.
