>>11876721Ancient mathematics is an interesting academic discussion, but frankly real mathematics didn't get going until the last five hundred years or so. My suggestion is that the discussion may be interesting for its own sake, but at the same time it's tiddlywinks to today, the long, low part of the hockey stick. As the long-canceled mathematical historian John Derbyshire remarked in one of his histories (my paraphrase), "for thousands of years, the history of algebra proceeded from solving quadratic equations, to... solving quadratic equations (until Cardano, the renaissance, modern Europe). While this progression of scientific development can be depressing when seen from a historical point of view, it should also give the reader some humility: the fact that we've managed to proceed into higher mathematical thought at all is a small miracle."
I have deep familiarity with ancient Egyptian mathematics, some standard Greek stuff, and historical documents from Europe following all this. While I haven't compared all those categories, I think the easy answer, that the Greeks actually had the best and most sophisticated mathematics, is the truest, but that sort of crimethink will be suppressed soon. Part of the reason why I say this is because the method of presentation in Euclid and Pappus, etc (even Plato's Meno if you like) is closest to the textual exposition style which has survived in modern mathematical research texts: define terms, opine a bit, state a theorem, provide a diagram where appropriate. A mixture of text and the occasional diagram. In the Greek case (rhind papyrus), they were fumbling toward things like linear algebra, primes and algorithms in my view, but these were recorded only as curiosities, and not pursued for their own sake. Would enjoy hearing from other anons who know more about the other cultures.
