A dialogue where students discuss multiplication.
- Devyn
- Hey Riley, I was reading about the history of mathematics.
- Riley
- Really? Tell me about it!
- Devyn
- Apparently, back in the day, mathematicians worried about writing things like:
- Riley
- Why? What’s the matter here?
- Devyn
- Well, they thought of as an area. But was thought of as a length. Apparently they worried whether it made sense to add ‘‘areas’’ and ‘‘lengths.’’
- Riley
- Hmmm. We don’t seem to worry about that now. I wonder why?