Learn · TED

Talk5 min

Where do math symbols come from?

John David Walters · TED

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About

Math is full of symbols: lines, dots, arrows, English letters, Greek letters, superscripts, subscripts ... it can look like an illegible jumble. Where did all of these symbols come from? John David Walters shares the origins of mathematical symbols, and illuminates why they’re still so important in the field today. [Directed by Chris Bishop, narrated by Addison Anderson].

The talk

  1. Where do math symbols come from? 5 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
John David Walters
Year
2017
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Mathematics, History, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed