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Since the dawn of civilisation, humans have used everyday materials to create mathematical models of the world around them. This album explores the ancient Greeks' astrolabe as a model of the skies; the sundial, to tell the time; Babylonian clay tablets to record wages and trading of sheep; wooden tallies for bulk-buying beer, the Incas' use of knots and string, and the sophisticated number-engine invented by Charles Babbage. This material forms part of The Open University course MST121 Using mathematics.
Track 6: Wooden tallies for buying beer
How wholesale beer sales were recorded using notches on wooden tallies.
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Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathematical models: from sundials to number engines | A short introduction to this album. Play now Mathematical models: from sundials to number engines |
| 2 | The sundial as a mathematical model | An ancient mathematical tool to measure the daily and annual cycles of the earth around the sun. Play now The sundial as a mathematical model |
| 3 | Reading the sky with the astrolabe | How the Greeks invented a two dimensional astrolabe as a conceptual model of the cosmos, and how it was used. Play now Reading the sky with the astrolabe |
| 4 | Recording sales in clay tablets | Clay tokens, an ancient system used to record goods changing hands. Play now Recording sales in clay tablets |
| 5 | Incas and their knots | How South American Incas kept records by the use of knots. Play now Incas and their knots |
| 6 | Wooden tallies for buying beer | How wholesale beer sales were recorded using notches on wooden tallies. Play now Wooden tallies for buying beer |
| 7 | John Napier's mathematical creations | John Napier's method of multiplication and logarithms, and how Charles Babbage corrected his calculations. Play now John Napier's mathematical creations |
| 8 | Babbage's engine of precision | Charles Babbage's ingenious mechanical device to compute mathematical equations. Play now Babbage's engine of precision |
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