Numerical systems across most ancient civilizations developed using similar linear patterns of counting. For primitive hunter-gatherer societies, a linear scale that facilitated counting the number of animals killed or artefacts bartered seemed sufficient. In a more complex and flourishing agrarian society like India, the need to study natural phenomena like rains and floods led early Indians to observe the cycles of the sun and moon, which in turn led them to count along circular patterns.
Ramprasad Soghal deconstructs the process by which ancient Indians arrived at the highly efficient Indian Numerical System, how it was adopted the world over, and how it was erroneously attributed as originating in Arabia.
He further makes a case for the probable origin of the Indian Numerical System in ancient Kannada numbers by shedding light on ancient Kannada notations devised for recording the waxing-waning phases of the Moon, the concept of Zero developed for counting the No-Moon and Full-Moon days, and the unique Placeholder System derived from the effective Kumbha system.
Subtopics:
0:00 .
1:19 start of the talk
1:52 Random symbols or symbols with reason - Numerology
3:28 History of numbers
11:25 Limitations of ancient number symbols
13:08 Importance of knowing history of numbers
16:15 Numbers in Vedic times - Rig Veda
21:05 Yajurveda - numbers
23:05 Very big numbers and infinity in our ancient scriptures
28:31 Key features of Indian numbers
32:01 How numbers evolved
38:41 Why India was thinking differently in terms of numbers
45:13 Linear Vs circular counting systems
48:21 Kumbha counting technique
50:25 Two zeroes in Indian counting system and decimal place
52:15 Why was it called Arabic numerals
54:21 Adoption of Zero
57:07 Conclusion
59:49 QnA session
1:01:40 Numbers were given by India not Arabia
1:03:01 why the word Hindu is not used instead of India for numbers
1:05:21 Cyclic nature of numbers
1:10:22 does conception of infinity already existing in India
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