Ordering operations in square root extractions

Agathe Keller (1)

1 SPHERE (UMR_7219) - Sciences, Philosophie, Histoire

Rules for extracting square roots written in Sanskrit in two treatises and their commentaries (from the Vth to the Xth century) are approached with questions inspired by textology and Speach Act Theory. An analysis of the number and order of steps spelled out is used to show that their aims were not limited to describing how to carry out the algorithm. The intentions of authors of mathematical texts in Sanskrit are questioned by lending an ear to the expressivity of relations established between world and text.

Mots clés: Algorithms; Square root extractions; history of science; history of text

Domaines: Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences; Linguistique

Agathe Keller. Ordering operations in square root extractions: Analyzing some early medieval Sanskrit mathematical texts with the help of Speach Act Theory. 2007. ⟨halshs-00506929v1⟩