Negative Numbers are not Fit for Purpose
Have you ever come across negative numbers in real life? Are they fit for purpose? Do you even like them? Help our exploration for an alternative to negative numbers.
Negative Numbers are not Fit for Purpose
Sometimes we withdraw more cash from the bank than is in our bank account. We then use the cash for shopping. The money given to the shopkeepers is real. It now belongs to the shopkeepers. We do not have any negative money, the shopkeeper does not have any negative money and the bank does not have any negative money
History of Negative Numbers
Negative numbers have not been widely accepted for long. Euclid (300 BCE) was only interested in positive rationals as solutions. They appeared in China during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE) in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. They had a system of rods of different colours for positive and negative