Like, adding and subtracting must have been a nightmare. Not even counting higher level math like engineering and physics.
In: 7
They could use an abacus. This enabled them to add, subtract, divide, multiply. They could keep track of numbers into the millions and even do fractions.
Simple maths wouldn’t need it.
What’s IIII plus XI? They’d just take the IIII and add I to it making a V and then stick it after the X to make XV. Easy.
Roman numbers are not intended to be used in calculation with pen and paper. They are intended to be used in calculation with a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_abacus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_abacus) [https://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/roman-hand-abacus.html](https://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/roman-hand-abacus.html)
It does not need to be one made of bronze. You can have two rows of holes and pebbles, so carving in a piece of wood or just creating holes in the ground.
Physics as we know it today dod not exist back then, and neither did engineering with the same kind of calculation we do today.
Number was primarily used to manage goods and money.
You can do multiplication and division too with roman numbers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNKTS3wnhAk I did not find a good video if division with roman numbers in a quick search
The same way we do now,just more complicated to actually write out as opposed to to the Arabic numerals that we use.
Edit: fixed abrahamic to Arabic
Roman engineering wasn’t the quantitative, empirical trade it is today. A lot of their practices were derived from trial and error and the pace of innovation was slow compared to modern times. Rather than complicated maths they relied on simpler proportional relationships, like “the thickness of the wall must be 1/x of the height” (I made that specific one up but that’s the idea). They were able to measure angles and grades fairly precisely, enabling their amazing aquaducts and sewers to operate efficiently. Their use of concrete however was exceptional, enabling them to build things like the Dome of the Parthenon that weren’t replicable for 1600 years. Concrete that cured underwater was another neat trick we only recently re-invented.
They also applied a shit-ton of safety factor, i.e. the super thick walls of the Parthenon supporting that miraculous dome, which is a large part of the reason many of their structures are still standing, and even still in use today.
They counted on their fingers with an elaborate system of hand gestures.
https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/counting-on-fingers-in-ancient-rome/
Latest Answers