Algorism

Not to be confused with Algorithm or Agorism.
See also: Algorismus (disambiguation)
Calculating-Table by Gregor Reisch: Margarita Philosophica, 1503. The woodcut shows Arithmetica instructing an algorist and an abacist (inaccurately represented as Boethius and Pythagoras). There was keen competition between the two from the introduction of the Algebra into Europe in the 12th century until its triumph in the 16th.[1]

Algorism is the technique of performing basic arithmetic by writing numbers in place value form and applying a set of memorized rules and facts to the digits. One who practices algorism is known as an algorist. This positional notation system has largely superseded earlier calculation systems that used a different set of symbols for each numerical magnitude, such as Roman numerals, and in some cases required a device such as an abacus.

  1. ^ Boyer, Carl B.; Merzbach, Uta C. (1991). A History of Mathematics (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 252–253. ISBN 978-0-471-54397-8.