Skip to content

Questions about Number

Short answers, pulled from the story.

Where is the Ishango bone currently on exhibit?

The Ishango bone stands on exhibit at the Belgian Museum of Natural Sciences. This artifact dates to between 22,000 and 30,000 years ago.

When did Indian mathematician Brahmagupta write about zero as an integer?

AD 628 marked the first recorded use of zero as an integer when Indian mathematician Brahmagupta wrote this concept in his work Brāhmasphuīasiddhānta. He treated zero as a number and defined operations involving it.

Who developed closed formulas for cubic roots during the 16th century?

Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia discovered closed formulas for cubic roots in the 16th century while Gerolamo Cardano also developed these formulas during the same period.

What year did Bernhard Riemann formulate the Riemann hypothesis?

Bernhard Riemann formulated the Riemann hypothesis in 1859. Jacques Hadamard and Charles de la Vallée-Poussin proved the prime number theorem in 1896.

Which ancient script contains mathematical infinity according to the text?

Mathematical infinity appears in the Yajurveda ancient Indian script. Jain mathematicians distinguished five types of infinity around 400 BC.