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loyola university chicago school of education

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Welcome to Loyola University Chicago, School of Education | NCTM Math Videos | | MathFLIX.luc.edu

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MathFLIX utilizes the technology of Quicktime movies to develope math skills in the NCTM standard of Algebra - equations & graphing.

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An excellent summary of historical information about the origin of many common mathematical symbols is the Wikipedia article on the subject. For those who want to dive deeper, the classic study by Florian Cajori is a great source.

More information about the life of Robert Recorde can be found at the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.

Part of the inspiration for this lesson came from Richard Feynman's fascinating anecdote about inventing his own mathematical notation in high school. It is found in one of his essays, titled "He Fixes Radios by Thinking!" collected in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman.

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Where do math symbols come from? - John David Walters

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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.

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Why is 'x' the symbol for an unknown? In this short and funny talk, Terry Moore gives the surprising answer.

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Let's Begin...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9... and 0. With just these ten symbols, we can write any rational number imaginable. But why these particular symbols? Why ten of them? And why do we arrange them the way we do? Alessandra King gives a brief history of numerical systems.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here "

Meet The Creators

Educator Alessandra King

Director Michael Kalopaidis

Script Editor Alex Gendler

Producer Zedem Media

Illustrator Jeanne Bornet

Animator Maria Savva

Sound Designer Andreas Trachonitis

Associate Producer Jessica Ruby

Content Producer Gerta Xhelo

Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal

Narrator Julianna Zarzycki

See more creators

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A brief history of numerical systems - Alessandra King

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9... and 0. With just these ten symbols, we can write any rational number imaginable. But why these particular symbols? Why ten of them? And why do we arrange them the way we do?