The West may have adopted the 0 when the monks notating music needed a sign for the pause. This, if I remember my Crosby, was around 1250 AD.
Romans and Greeks had no trouble adding and subtracting: the lines in the sand they were drawing were the equivalent of an abacus. The "clumsiness" was limited to the final spelling out of the result.
Greetings from Kerala - we succeeded in outwitting the Indian government covid-nerds. They got on my nerves alright.
Thank you, Pallavi,
very illuminating. May I add some lore?
The West may have adopted the 0 when the monks notating music needed a sign for the pause. This, if I remember my Crosby, was around 1250 AD.
Romans and Greeks had no trouble adding and subtracting: the lines in the sand they were drawing were the equivalent of an abacus. The "clumsiness" was limited to the final spelling out of the result.
Greetings from Kerala - we succeeded in outwitting the Indian government covid-nerds. They got on my nerves alright.