A brief history of numerical systems - Alessandra King
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TEDEd Animation
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 a new (positional) numerical system. Explain what base (other than 10) and what symbols you would choose and why. Write a few numbers in your system and their equivalent in base 10.
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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
