[ben_w]

Yup. I think also languages were much more variable, and doing accounting in Roman numerals was so hard they did it twice and averaged the answers, and contracts and tax receipts were done by carving marks in sticks (hence, apparently, the etymology of "stocks").

[simonh]

Even the Romans didn’t use Roman numbers much for actual maths, they used the Greek system.

[ben_w]

Huh, TIL. Thanks :)

[simonh]

You’re welcome, I learned that here too a few years ago. Love HN.