We use them every day; starting in first grade, we learn to do calculations and measure the world thanks to them. But where do numbers come from? How far have we come since, according to myth, the god Thoth gifted them to the ancient Egyptians? How have we counted, how have operations been performed over the centuries, the millennia? When and by what means did the positional system spread, ousting the additive one? And why are the Arabic (or Indian) numerals we use different from the numbers the Arabs use?
\nMoving with ease between Egypt in the 4th millennium BC and medieval abacus schools, patiently handling the nails that ran on Roman \u201ccalculators\u201d and the tokens used by Pope Sylvester II around the year 1000, traveling with Arab merchants (and mathematicians) along the roads between the Indus Valley and Morocco, Alessandro Magrini addresses these and many other questions in Nel segno di Thot, an ideal sequel to Il dono di Cadmo, in which he accompanied us on the discovery of the alphabet.
\nAnd here too, anecdotes, curiosities, and above all the clarity of exposition and passion that shines through every page make this well-documented study highly enjoyable. Here too, we journey captivated through time and space, marveling at the wonders that man has managed to create thanks to a few small marks carved or written with chalk, a quill, or a pen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We use them every day; starting in first grade, we learn to do calculations and measure the world thanks to them. But where do numbers come from? How far have we come since, according to myth, the god Thoth gifted them to the ancient Egyptians? How have we counted, how have operations been performed over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31976,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tipologia_evento":[385],"anno_edizione":[501],"tag_evento_festival":[502],"class_list":["post-33931","eventi_festival","type-eventi_festival","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tipologia_evento-presentazione-di-libro","anno_edizione-501","tag_evento_festival-11-nov-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n