'Indian' Rules, 'Yavana' Rules: Foreign Identity and the Transmission of Mathematics

摘要

Numerous ideas and methods derived from Indian mathematics became familiar in the west long before European scholars began systematically studying Sanskrit scientific texts. The name "Indian" was attached to many mathematical concepts and techniques in West Asia/North Africa and Europe starting at the beginning of the medieval period, from the "Indian numbers" and "Indian calculation" adopted by Arab mathematicians to the "Hindoo method" for solving quadratic equations in nineteenth-century algebra textbooks. Likewise, the Sanskrit term "Yavana", originally a transliteration of "Ionian (Greek)" but later applied to other foreigners as well, was applied by Indian scholars to various foreign importations in the exact sciences. This talk explores the historical process of adoption and assimilation of "foreign mathematics" both in and from India.