3,700-year-old Babylonian tablet rewrites the history of maths - and shows the Greeks [tr]

UK Telegraph ^ | August 24, 2017 | Sarah Knapton

[trebb]

You can secant you?

[AndyTheBear]

I can only see in a limited radius after somebody threw a pi in my face.

[minnesota_bound]

I am amazed these guys could do this math with clay tablets.
Imagine what they could do with pen and paper and a calculator.

[hurrycane]

If they want you to sin, tell them you will cosin and then get them off on a tangent.

[sarge83]

I’m not saying it’s aliens, but it’s...

[GingisK]

Did this ancient Babylonian tablet use a Z80?

[GingisK]

Ah, the PDP-11 would have suited you.

[bunkerhill7]

A beach love triangle consists of two tangents and acute angel.

[super7man]

I cut my teeth on a PDP-7. Lots of switch flipping. 8K of ram.

Also progammed a PDP-11 as a ESI Laser controller. Did amazing things with that laser.

;o)

[super7man]

Also tortured myself on an IBM Series 1 for a year.

[GingisK]

You and I are the same vintage. I cut my teeth on an IBM 1130, which is very much like the Series 1. Then I experienced the PDP-8 and the PDP-11/45. The PDP-11 was my drop dead favorite until the Motorola 68000 series came out.

In the meantime, I laid hands on the SEL 810 & 840, the XDS Sigma 7 and 9, CDC 7600, and the UNIVAC 1108.

I really liked that big iron, and a wide assortment of mini-computers as well. Those seemed almost God-like. Computers of today are remarkable, stunning really. Common as BIC pens, and not as fun seeming as the old stuff. What youngsters miss is the clatter of that stupid ASR33.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 08/25/2017. Thanks C19fan. Yesterday I saw a calculator with the trig functions -- at Dollar Tree.

• Mathematical mystery of ancient Babylonian clay tablet solved [2017]
• 3,700-year-old Babylonian tablet rewrites the history of maths - and shows the Greeks did not... [2017]