Re: [HM] Roman numerals

David Fowler (david.fowler@maths.warwick.ac.uk)
Sun, 6 Jun 1999 18:49:41 +0100

At 8:12 am -0500 11/5/99, Michael Detlefsen asked, at the end of a post
about how ordinary arithmetic with Roman numerals is nothing like as
difficult as people say (on which he and his colleagues have published an
interesting article in AHES):

>(1) Are there cursed ideas in the history of mathematics? :) ... false
>ideas so attractive and so firmly entrenched that those who oppose them
>will simply be ignored ... or scorned? :)

I don't now feel ignored or scorned, but I would propose the idea the
someone in early Greek mathematics (Pythagoras?) discovered the
irrationality of Root2, which did something drastic to the foundations of
their mathematics.

I'd like to hear of more suggestions.

David Fowler