The Story of 1
Encyclopedia
The Story of 1 is a BBC
documentary about the history of numbers, and in particular, the number 1. It was presented by ex-Monty Python
member Terry Jones
. It was released in 2005.
, where bone
s have been discovered with notches in them. However, there is no actual way of knowing if they were used for counting.
Jones then discusses the Ishango Bone
, which must have been used for counting
, because there are 60 scratches on each side of the bone. Jones declares this "the birth of one"; a defining moment in history of mathematics
.
He then journeys to Sumer. Shortly after farming had been invented and humans were starting to build houses, they started to represent 1 with a token. With this, it was possible for the first time in history to do arithmetic. They would enclose a certain number of tokens in a clay envelope and imprint the number of tokens on the outside. However, it was realized that you could simply write the number on a clay tablet.
To explore why the development of numbers occurred here and not some other place, Jones travels to Australia and meets a tribe called the Walpri. In their language, there are no words for numbers. When an individual is asked how many grandchildren he has, he simply replies he has "many", while he in fact has four.
In Egypt, the numeral system provides a fascinating glimpse of Egyptian society, and it went something like this. One was a line, ten was a rope, a hundred a coil of rope, a thousand a lotus, a symbol of pleasure, ten thousand was a commanding finger, and a hundred thousand, a number that the Sumerians would never dreamed of, was a million; the first ever million. The symbol for it was a prisoner begging for forgiveness.
The Egyptians had a standard unit, the cubit, which was instrumental for building wonders such as the pyramids.
Terry Jones then journeys to Greece
to cover the time of Pythagoras
. Jones discusses with mathematician Marcus de Sautoy Pythagoras' obsession with numbers, his secret society, his dedication to numbers, the Pythagorean theorem, and his flawed belief that all things could be measured in units.
Archimedes
was also in love with numbers. He tried to see what would happen if you took a sphere and turned it into a cylinder. This concept would later be applied to map making. Archimedes lived in Syracuse which at the time was at war with Rome
. Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier while working on a mathematical problem. The Romans were not interested in maths, and as a result mathematics declined. The Roman numeral
system was clumsy and inefficient. One reason that Terry Jones theorizes might be the reason, was the fact that the numerals that the Romans used were basically the old-fashioned lines of the Ishango bone.
Jones discusses India's invention of a more efficient numeral system, including the invention of the concept of zero. He explains how the concept traveled West to the Caliphate. Then it arrived in Italy where it met fierce resistance. The reason for this was because most people were familiar only with the Roman numerals
and not the superior Indian numerals
. Eventually, the Hindu-Arabic numerals displaced the Roman ones.
Jones discusses finally how Gottfried Leibniz
invented the binary system, which is the foundation for modern digital computers. He planned on building a mechanical computer to use this system, but never followed through with the plan. Leibniz was convinced that 1 and 0 were the only numbers anyone really needed. In 1944, a computer called Colossus
was used to crack enemy codes during World War II
. Computers like Colossus evolved into modern computers, which are used for every type of number calculation.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary about the history of numbers, and in particular, the number 1. It was presented by ex-Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
member Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
. It was released in 2005.
Plot
Terry Jones first journeys to AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, where bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s have been discovered with notches in them. However, there is no actual way of knowing if they were used for counting.
Jones then discusses the Ishango Bone
Ishango bone
The Ishango bone is a bone tool, dated to the Upper Paleolithic era. It is a dark brown length of bone, the fibula of a baboon, with a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving...
, which must have been used for counting
Counting
Counting is the action of finding the number of elements of a finite set of objects. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a counter by a unit for every element of the set, in some order, while marking those elements to avoid visiting the same element more than once,...
, because there are 60 scratches on each side of the bone. Jones declares this "the birth of one"; a defining moment in history of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
.
He then journeys to Sumer. Shortly after farming had been invented and humans were starting to build houses, they started to represent 1 with a token. With this, it was possible for the first time in history to do arithmetic. They would enclose a certain number of tokens in a clay envelope and imprint the number of tokens on the outside. However, it was realized that you could simply write the number on a clay tablet.
To explore why the development of numbers occurred here and not some other place, Jones travels to Australia and meets a tribe called the Walpri. In their language, there are no words for numbers. When an individual is asked how many grandchildren he has, he simply replies he has "many", while he in fact has four.
In Egypt, the numeral system provides a fascinating glimpse of Egyptian society, and it went something like this. One was a line, ten was a rope, a hundred a coil of rope, a thousand a lotus, a symbol of pleasure, ten thousand was a commanding finger, and a hundred thousand, a number that the Sumerians would never dreamed of, was a million; the first ever million. The symbol for it was a prisoner begging for forgiveness.
The Egyptians had a standard unit, the cubit, which was instrumental for building wonders such as the pyramids.
Terry Jones then journeys to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
to cover the time of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
. Jones discusses with mathematician Marcus de Sautoy Pythagoras' obsession with numbers, his secret society, his dedication to numbers, the Pythagorean theorem, and his flawed belief that all things could be measured in units.
Archimedes
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an...
was also in love with numbers. He tried to see what would happen if you took a sphere and turned it into a cylinder. This concept would later be applied to map making. Archimedes lived in Syracuse which at the time was at war with Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier while working on a mathematical problem. The Romans were not interested in maths, and as a result mathematics declined. The Roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
system was clumsy and inefficient. One reason that Terry Jones theorizes might be the reason, was the fact that the numerals that the Romans used were basically the old-fashioned lines of the Ishango bone.
Jones discusses India's invention of a more efficient numeral system, including the invention of the concept of zero. He explains how the concept traveled West to the Caliphate. Then it arrived in Italy where it met fierce resistance. The reason for this was because most people were familiar only with the Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
and not the superior Indian numerals
Indian numerals
Most of the positional base 10 numeral systems in the world have originated from India, where the concept of positional numeration was first developed...
. Eventually, the Hindu-Arabic numerals displaced the Roman ones.
Jones discusses finally how Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
invented the binary system, which is the foundation for modern digital computers. He planned on building a mechanical computer to use this system, but never followed through with the plan. Leibniz was convinced that 1 and 0 were the only numbers anyone really needed. In 1944, a computer called Colossus
Colossus computer
Not to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...
was used to crack enemy codes during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Computers like Colossus evolved into modern computers, which are used for every type of number calculation.
External links
- http://www.pbs.org/previews/storyof1/