Count like an Egyptian

[sjastro]

How they did maths in the good old days.

 

[Halbhh]

The guy at the right on the tablet is saying "Where are my frogs?" ;-) It was fun to see the technique, and I spent a few seconds trying to figure out it I felt it would be easier. My roomate in college and I competed one week in doing 3 and 4 digit multiplications in our heads, who could get the right answer first. (neither of us were savants or such, so it was a mental effort thing, who was more determined)

 

[Halbhh]

I concluded I'm so used to my old techniques that they are pretty fast for me. So the new one was slower on first try.

 

[sjastro]

Maybe it was a failure of Egyptian mathematics which led to a massive architectural failure in the form of the Bent Pyramid.

​

The pharaoh eventually got it right (third time lucky).

 

[partinobodycular]

My roomate in college and I competed one week in doing 3 and 4 digit multiplications in our heads, who could get the right answer first. (neither of us were savants or such, so it was a mental effort thing, who was more determined

I was always very good at doing multiplication in my head. With three digit numbers I could multiply them in my head almost as fast as the person could say them. My mind just had a gift for numbers. But what was odd was that geography was the same way for me, I could remember places and names, but for the life of me I couldn't remember faces and names at all. My mind would draw a complete blank.

Nowadays anything beyond two digit numbers and I'm looking for a calculator, and I still can't remember faces and names. But that's perfectly fine with me. I like getting old. I like forgetting, it makes me feel normal.

 

[sjastro]

I was always very good at doing multiplication in my head. With three digit numbers I could multiply them in my head almost as fast as the person could say them. My mind just had a gift for numbers. But what was odd was that geography was the same way for me, I could remember places and names, but for the life of me I couldn't remember faces and names at all. My mind would draw a complete blank.

Nowadays anything beyond two digit numbers and I'm looking for a calculator, and I still can't remember faces and names. But that's perfectly fine with me. I like getting old. I like forgetting, it makes me feel normal.

I find this very impressive.

 

[ripple the car]

Maybe it was a failure of Egyptian mathematics which led to a massive architectural failure in the form of the Bent Pyramid.

​

The pharaoh eventually got it right (third time lucky).

Too many frogs.

 

[partinobodycular]

I find this very impressive.

I never, ever would've thought of doing it the way the first guy did. That was impressive. Why he did it that way I don't know, because the way the second guy did it was fairly obvious. The first question that I asked myself was, how do I get that "1" at the end? And there seem to be just two likely scenarios, get to 815 and add six, or get to 825 and subtract 4. A quick look at the numbers suggests that getting to 815 just isn't gonna happen. Then it's just a matter of figuring out how to get to 825, and it's almost like you can't help but get 825. You can do (100+25)*6=750, then add 75 and you're at 825. Or you can go (75+50)*6=750 then add 100, then subtract 25 and you're at 825. Or you can go (100+50)*6=900, then subtract 75 and again you're at 825. So the way the second guy did it seems so simple that it's hard to fathom why the first guy did it the hard way.

 

[Occams Barber]

Maybe it was a failure of Egyptian mathematics which led to a massive architectural failure in the form of the Bent Pyramid.

​

The pharaoh eventually got it right (third time lucky).

The Bent Pyramid is sometimes referred to as King Snafu's tomb.

OB

 

[sjastro]

The Bent Pyramid is sometimes referred to as King Snafu's tomb.

OB

This is Snefru's cartouche.

​

Using the Google hieroglyphics keyboard and translator;

Snefru

means "To make beautiful".​

Snafu

when translated means "I am the son of an eel herder".
​

Google launches hieroglyphics translator powered by AI

 

[BeyondET]

They invented the second hand on a clock

 

[SkyWriting]

I was always very good at doing multiplication in my head. With three digit numbers I could multiply them in my head almost as fast as the person could say them. My mind just had a gift for numbers. But what was odd was that geography was the same way for me, I could remember places and names, but for the life of me I couldn't remember faces and names at all. My mind would draw a complete blank.

Nowadays anything beyond two digit numbers and I'm looking for a calculator, and I still can't remember faces and names. But that's perfectly fine with me. I like getting old. I like forgetting, it makes me feel normal.

When I try to recall colors I draw a blank. But I can reproduce music after one exposure.
Like if I recall the US Flag, it's mostly black and white, but I can mentally recolor it with some thought.

 

[SkyWriting]

They invented the second hand on a clock

Who invented the one that falls off all the time?

 

[Strathos]

Maybe it was a failure of Egyptian mathematics which led to a massive architectural failure in the form of the Bent Pyramid.

To be fair, it's still standing after 4600+ years.

 

[durangodawood]

Maybe it was a failure of Egyptian mathematics which led to a massive architectural failure in the form of the Bent Pyramid.

​

The pharaoh eventually got it right (third time lucky).

The bent pyramid successfully stores more grain.

 

[sjastro]

The bent pyramid successfully stores more grain.

I much prefer the hypothesis the pyramids were built by aliens.

 

[sjastro]

Google launches hieroglyphics translator powered by AI

Evidently Google need to get their sales and marketing people more active as the product is pitched to the Egyptologists and archeologists.
The Egyptologist Chris Naunton is unaware of the product.

Hello Chris,
Are you familiar with Fabricius, Googles AI algorithm for translating Egyptian hieroglyphs?
I tried it on Khufu's cartouche but wasn't successful.

I don’t know it but will take a look, thanks!
Chris

Dr Chris Naunton, Egyptologist
@chrisnaunton / www.chrisnaunton.com
LOCKDOWN LECTURES ONLINE - details here
SUPPORT MY WORK - see here
Egyptologists’ Notebooks - OUT NOW - see here
Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt - NOW IN PAPERBACK - see here

Here is a brief description of Chris Naunton's workload.