Unlike Egyptian mathematics, Greek mathematics refers to the texts typically written during and when ideas stem from the Archaic through the Roman and Hellenistic eras. The work of the famous and great Ancient Greek mathematicians has permeated every aspect and part of life, especially from sending rockets into space to accounting, architecture, and even the DIY field. In addition, Greek deduction is not only regarded as one of the most pivotal and incredible legacies that came into this world but is also considered the primary foundation of modern society. Remarkably, the concept of deduction in Greek has played a vital role in setting ancient Greek mathematics apart from famous ancient Egyptian mathematicians.
The Greeks copied many methods and techniques from the Babylonians and the Egyptians. Nonetheless, the Greeks were among the first to make math a realm of theory through reasoning and the deduction concept rather than measurement (Fraser & Schroter, 2019). In contrast, Egyptian mathematics was used for practical purposes. As an illustration, mathematicians from Egypt were uninterested and did not bother finding the exact pi figure. However, an approximate figure was adequate as long as their goals and uses were achieved.
Nonetheless, Egypt’s mathematical concepts and principles were based and built around the addition. The Greeks and Egyptians had and used different mathematical principles. The latter focused on practical arithmetic concepts, while their counterparts concentrated mainly on mathematical concepts, regulations, and ideas in their Greek deduction (Herrmann, 2023). However, most historians believe that the Egyptians did not perceive numbers as abstract quantities, but they primarily thought of a collection of eight items, especially when this number was mentioned.
Therefore, the mathematics of Egypt invented tricky methods to overcome this shortcoming because most of their numbers were inappropriate for multiplication, as illustrated in the Rhind papyrus. The ancient mathematicians also utilized a wide range of mathematical concepts and principles. These included the numeral system, which played a vital role in helping the counting process and solving written mathematical problems that often entail fractions and multiplications (Herrmann, 2023). The Great Pyramid of Egypt was also constructed using the mathematical Golden Ratio proportions, as evidenced by its properly adjusted height, base length, and angles. However, most of the evidence in ancient Egyptian mathematics is limited to the fact that there is a low amount of sources written on the Rhind papyrus.
Nevertheless, the Babylonians went the extra mile by looking at the relationship and the connection behind the numbers, but most of their work was in an empirical form. Nevertheless, the Greeks completely changed this perception by thoroughly exploring the underlying rules and relationships governing the functions and numbers (Christianidis & Megremi, 2019). The Greeks believed that because the universe is perfect, they had to develop and use the Greek deduction techniques to establish and identify mathematical facts without the challenges of inaccuracy and impurity from empirical measurements.
The above motive was crucial in the advancements they later made in algebra, calculus, geometry, and, most importantly, the mathematical form of reasoning, which is the primary foundation of logical arguments (Christianidis & Megremi, 2019). Having been influenced by famous ancient Egyptian mathematicians, Greek mathematics made several breakthroughs in Pythagoras’ theory of the right-angled triangles. It also focused on the abstract, bringing clarity and, primarily, precision to the age-old mathematical problems and concepts.
In conclusion, ancient Egyptian arithmetic greatly influenced the deductions in ancient Greek mathematics. It is the process of solving specific problems and the organization of the subjects. The Greeks invented and borrowed many techniques from the Babylonians and Egyptians. In addition, it is clear that ancient Egyptian mathematics also significantly affected the development of a modern system of weights used in the scaling of products.
References
Christianidis, J., & Megremi, A. (2019). Tracing the early history of algebra: Testimonies on Diophantus in the Greek-speaking world (4th–7th century CE). Historia Mathematica, 47(2), 16-38.
Fraser, C., & Schroter, A. (2019). Past, present and anachronism in the historiography of mathematics. CMS Notes, 51(3), 16-17.
Herrmann, D. (2023). Ancient mathematics: History of mathematics in Ancient Greece and Hellenism. Springer