War in Europe is a staple topic in the study of history, but there’s one major conflict most history books won’t teach you—the battle of the equals sign, “=.” These two parallel lines were, in fact, the source of major conflict between European mathematicians in the mid 1500s. This is just one of many untold histories in The Language of Mathematics: The Stories behind the Symbols by author and mathematician Raúl Rojas. In it, Rojas explores the complex, and sometimes uncertain, history of mathematical symbolism.
Another debate has been raging for centuries, for instance, over who invented the symbol for zero, “0.” Over the years, competing camps have debated adopting one or another notation for many different aspects of mathematics. Rojas’s tale guides us along the historical arc of mathematics, intertwining its evolution with the cultural, philosophical and practical needs of the societies that shaped and relied on it.
Scientific American spoke to Rojas about this history, the deeply engaging humanity of mathematics and the egos at play in defining the mathematical language we take for granted today.
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[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
What inspired you to write this book about the stories behind these symbols?
I started teaching in 1977, and across my nearly 50 years, I noticed that students were always interested in the history of mathematics. When you teach linear algebra or calculus, it’s important to tell students about the people who developed the concepts and how those concepts came to be. I started doing seminars on the history of mathematical notation and had every student study one symbol and explain its origin. I found that those students who are falling asleep in class suddenly wake up when you add a human story behind the abstract symbols.
Throughout the book, you discuss symbols that ultimately failed to become the standard en route to the notation we know today. How were these things decided?
One of the interesting things about the history of mathematical notation is its regional variation over the centuries. There was one kind of notation in Italy, another in Germany, the U.K. and France. All these different regions were producing symbols, and…
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