ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Timeline of mathematics

Mathematics is a very important subject that helps us solve problems and understand the world around us. The timeline of mathematics goes back a really long time. Here’s a simple explanation of it!

A long time ago, when people first started counting things like their sheep or the grains of wheat they had harvested, they used their fingers and toes to count. This is called counting on base 10.

Before people had formal symbols for writing numbers, they used tally marks or lines to represent the numbers. The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs to symbolize sets of ten.

Fast forward a bit, around 3,000 BCE the Babylonians used a system of writing called cuneiform to help them keep track of numbers. The system had symbols for numbers 1-60, and was used in trading.

Then, the ancient Greeks created geometry. They studied shapes and lines and discovered many amazing things, such as the Pythagorean theorem.

Later, in the Middle Ages, mathematicians in the Islamic world like Al-Khwarizmi created algebra, which uses letters and symbols to represent unknown values in equations.

During the Renaissance, mathematicians like Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei studied mechanics and astronomy. They made many discoveries that helped us understand the universe.

Then, in the 18th and 19th centuries, mathematicians worked on calculus, which helps us understand how things change over time. This is really useful for things like engineering and physics.

Nowadays, mathematicians are still discovering new things every day! They use computers and technology to help them solve complex problems and make new discoveries.

Without mathematics, we wouldn’t have many of the things that make our lives easier today. So, it’s pretty important to keep studying it!