How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals?

submitted by magnora7 from washingtoncitypaper.com

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[–]ManWithABanana 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Thanks, now I have an inexplicable urge to do math in Roman numerals.

Interesting that the article claims "IIII" is the way Romans would say 4, instead of what I was taught as "IV". With that caveat the system works well. Also explained (briefly) and with examples here.

https://www.storyofmathematics.com/roman.html

[–]magnora7[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Haha the math is kind of interesting, as the carry rules are sometimes easier. V times III = VVV = XV

I've heard the thing about IIII before as well many years ago. While compact, IV does seem like a bit of a contrivance, as it implies subtraction, which complicates things.

Thanks for the link!

[–]Chipit 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Whenever you see actual Roman numerals, chiseled in stone or something, they always use IIII. Something I always wondered about, and then was told to hush when I was a child. Stupid adults.