Bhaskara-II

When I first found out about the show on Bhaskara-II, I had questions - "Who is this guy? and why was he given so much importance in Math!!!!" I researched the online resources on Bhaskara's works a bit. Something quickly struck a chord with me

Bhaskara-II documents five different modes of multiplying two numbers, as practiced in those days. One of them is a split method. For example, 12 * 12 is split as (10 + 2) * 12 to make it easy for beginners to multiply. 120 + 24 = 144. 

Interestingly this is how I used to do addition when I was a kid. I used to split to smaller numbers to add up to 10. For eg: 17 + 15. I see the units as 7+3+2 = 10+2. I used to split it to make 10 first and add the rest. Sounds crazy but it worked for me.

I also came to know some more interesting facts

  • In those days they weighed with fruit seeds and grains!!!! Isn’t awesome.
  • Bhaskara-II was not only a mathematician but also very good at astronomy. He was good at poetry as well. He was a combination of analytical and emotional assets.
  • He knew his Vedas, epics, and what not. He sounds like  “ THE COOL GUY”  from 900 years ago
  • His Work Lilavathi is full of puzzles to his brilliant daughter. One thing I love the most is puzzles. I can not wait to get hold of the full text of Lilavathi.
Hmmmm…. These are enough reasons for me to become involved in the celebrating Bhaskara's 900 the birthday anniversary. Even if you don't have the time to research about this guy, trust me, joining the even on 31st Jan in Saratoga will make you feel that Bhaskara was a cool guy.

https://www.facebook.com/events/777839775615771/785727611493654/?comment_id=785798398153242&notif_t=event_mall_comment

Comments

Parag said…
Great one, Elavanya! Good insight into how we think about mathematical problems.
December 24, 2014 at 5:57 AM
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