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> The reason we call inverses “arcsine”, etc. is because originally these were written as quasi-sentences, and the concept of a mathematical function was not we
by uryga 10y ago
> The reason we call inverses “arcsine”, etc. is because originally these were written as quasi-sentences, and the concept of a mathematical function was not well developed. So sin⁻¹ x would be expressed as something like: arc (sin. = x).
Any pointers to resources about those "quasi-sentences"? I'm interested in language, broadly speaking, so info about how mathematical notation evolved is interesting to me. The rest of your comment is great to, I'd love to read a book about stuff like this if there is one!
- jacobolus 10y agoThe most comprehensive source about this kind of thing is Cajori’s History of Mathematical Notations. You should be able to find a used copy of both volumes for a reasonable price.
- _asummers 10y agoThere's a Dover publishing of both volumes in one on Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/History-Mathematical-Notations-Dover-Mathematics/dp/0486677664/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0W3D09QH7T4RNGMT2HMF https://smile.amazon.com/History-Mathematical-Notations-Dove...