We write from left to right. What determines the direction of writing of different nations: left to right or right to left, and so on? To explain clearly what is the difference between them, let’s use our imagination

Documentation

Have you ever wondered why Hebrew and Arabic writing have one distinct feature, namely writing from right to left? It turns out there is a very practical explanation for this.

The fact is that Hebrew and Arabic writing arose on the basis of ancient Babylonian cuneiform writing, and the Western tradition of writing - from ancient Egyptian papyrus writing.

To explain clearly what is the difference between them, let’s use our imagination. Imagine that there is papyrus in front of you, and in your hands you have a stylus (a thin knife). We cut hieroglyphs with our right hand (85% of people are right-handed). At the same time, what is written to the right of us is closed, but what is written to the left is clearly visible. The question arises: how do you prefer to write? Of course, from left to right, since it is so convenient to see what has already been written.

Now take a stone, a hammer and a chisel in your hands. Hammer in the right hand (85%), chisel in the left. Let's start carving cuneiform hieroglyphs. The left hand with the chisel reliably covers what is written on the left, but what is written on the right is clearly visible to us. How is it more convenient for us to write? In this case, from right to left.

By the way, if you take a closer look at the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, you will notice that their peculiar configuration indicates that the letters were originally carved on something solid. It is much easier to draw such letters with a chisel rather than with a pen.

Of course, since then the stone has ceased to be the only long-term keeper of information, but the rules of writing have already been formed, so it was decided not to radically change the rules of writing.

There are many theories about the origin of writing, but it should be understood that none of them can be considered one hundred percent correct - we are talking about processes dating back several thousand years, about which no written (pardon the pun) evidence has survived. The same can be said about other “prehistory of civilization”: we will never know exactly where the first Indo-Europeans lived and what their language sounded like, who the first people who crossed the Bering Strait were, and in what year the dog was first domesticated - we can only make reconstructions and assumptions varying degrees of validity.

However, most scientists now associate the direction of writing with the type of writing implements originally used. There are two main options here.

1. The text is written with some kind of device reminiscent of a modern pen (stylus, pointed tube, etc.) on a soft surface, and either a coloring matter is distributed over this surface (ink, ink, etc. on paper, papyrus, etc.) , or the marks on this surface are squeezed out/scratched, but without much effort (wax, birch bark, soft clay, etc.). With this method of writing, it is most convenient to hold the instrument in the right hand (more than 90% of people are right-handed) with the most developed fingers (index, middle and thumb). In this case, writing from left to right turns out to be much more organic, because, firstly, the writer’s hand does not cover what has already been written and you can constantly consult it, and secondly, when using a dye, there is no risk of smearing it with your hand or sleeve.

2. The text is carved on a hard surface (stone, wood) using a cutting tool (chisel, etc.) and a beater (hammer, etc.). In this case, the hammer is usually held with the right hand (>90% of people are right-handed, and their right hand is stronger), and the chisel is held with the left; Accordingly, it is more convenient to “write” from right to left, since the hammer does not interfere with the view of the sign being knocked out at the moment.

The main method of writing in most human civilizations, for obvious reasons, was the first (soft surface + paint/scratching): it is simple and does not require much physical effort. Therefore, most known writing systems use left-to-right writing. Modern right-to-left writing systems apparently have historical roots in the second variant, but these processes are so distant in time that we cannot say for sure that this was the case.

As for other methods of writing, they are derived from those indicated. Eastern writing from top to bottom is the same writing from left to right, which developed due to the fact that writing material was rolled into gradually unfolding rolls. Near Asian boustrophedon (

is also a variant of writing from left to right, in which the surface (tablet) was rotated 180 degrees at the end of each line.

How many other seemingly banal questions are literally constantly before our eyes. However, we never tried to find answers to them because we did not notice this question - we got used to it. But often such questions hide interesting, deep and sometimes simply elegant answers.

Have you ever wondered why Hebrew and Arabic writing have one distinct feature, namely writing from right to left? It turns out there is a very practical explanation for this.

Semitic languages, which include both Arabic and Hebrew, are among the oldest on the planet. They originated at a time when no one could even dream of paper, because it appeared only about two thousand years ago. Hebrew and Arabic writing developed from ancient Babylonian cuneiform writing, and Western writing traditions evolved from ancient Egyptian papyrus writing.

Do you agree with this version?

One of my friends, after visiting Egypt, relayed to me his dialogue with another Russian tourist during an excursion to the pyramids. People who have been there know what it looks like: Arabs running around with whistles and chasing away those who like to climb the pyramids. After a short contemplation of this circus, a fellow traveler asked him, “Do you believe that THESE could build this? I don’t.” His friend agreed with him.

Nevertheless, every time I allow myself unflattering statements about the Arabs, there is a person who reminds me that the positional number system that we use was invented by the Arabs and that is why the numbers are called “Arabic”, in contrast to, for example, Roman .

However, these numbers were called Arabic by Europeans, who borrowed them from the Arabs.

In the 12th century, Al-Khwarizmi’s book “On Indian Counting” was translated into Latin and played a very important role in the development of European arithmetic and the introduction of Indo-Arabic numerals. ()

But in Arabic they are called “ar raqm al hindi”, which means “Indian count”. They are also called Indian in Iran: “shumare ha ye hendi” in Farsi means “Indian numerals”. We cannot know for sure whether the Arabs built the pyramids, but the fact that they had nothing to do with the creation of the so-called “Arabic” numbers is a reliable and generally accepted fact.

Indian numerals originated in India no later than the 5th century. At the same time, the concept of zero (shunya) was discovered and formalized, which made it possible to move on to positional notation of numbers. Arabic and Indo-Arabic numerals are modified styles of Indian numerals adapted to Arabic writing. The Indian notation system was widely popularized by the scientist Al-Khwarizmi, the author of the famous work “Kitab al-jabr wa-l-muqabala”, from the name of which the term “algebra” was derived. ()

But let’s imagine that we don’t have access to the Internet and books, or we don’t believe what’s written on Wikipedia. The fact that the Arabs simply took advantage of the result can be easily guessed even without knowing about the “Indian numbers”. As you know, Arabs write from right to left. But at the same time, numbers are written like most white peoples, from left to right. Therefore, if an Arab needs to write a number when writing, he has to step back to the left, figuring out how much space it will take up, write the number from left to right, and then return back to writing from right to left. Take a piece of paper and try to write the text from right to left, and the numbers as usual, and you will understand what is meant. If you have to write quickly, then you can hastily underestimate the space needed for the number, and then it will be flattened towards the end.

The inscription in Arabic "Received the amount of 25976000 reais." The last three zeros did not fit into the indentation and had to be added in small font at the top.

A more educated opponent will immediately say that the achievement of the Arabs is not so much in the creation of a system of positional calculus, but in the creation of algebra, the progenitor of which is considered the outstanding Arabic(more on this below) mathematics Al-Khwarizmi. He is considered the creator of algebra, of course, not for the “Arabic” numbers, but for the above-mentioned work, the book “Kitab al-jabr wa-l-mukabala”. The word "al-jabr" in the name means "transfer", and the word "wa-l-muqbala" means "bringing". Transferring terms and bringing similar ones are one of the main actions when solving equations. By the way, the word “algorithm” comes precisely from the name of Al-Khorezmi - the Latin translation of his book began with the words “Dixit Algorizmi” (said Algorizmi).

Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi, a (supposedly) Persian mathematician who worked under Arab occupation. The real image, of course, was not preserved and the author, for some reason, decided to draw the scientist an Arabian beak-shaped nose. (photo from here)

Wikipedia tells us that Al-Khwarizmi introduced a certain classification for linear and quadratic equations and described the rules for solving them. Methods for solving quadratic equations are undoubtedly an achievement for that time. But only they were known before him

One of the first known derivations of the formula for the roots of a quadratic equation belongs to the Indian scientist Brahmagupta (circa 598); Brahmagupta outlined a universal rule for solving a quadratic equation reduced to canonical form ()

“Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta” (“Improved Doctrine of Brahma”, or “Revision of the Brahma System”) is Brahmagupta’s most famous work on mathematics and astronomy. The treatise is written in verse and contains only results without evidence. The work consists of 25 chapters (other sources speak of 24 chapters and an appendix with tables). The 18th chapter, “Atomizer,” is directly related to algebra, but since such a term did not yet exist, it is named after the first problem discussed in the chapter. ()

Maybe Al-Khorezmi was not familiar with the works of Brahmagupta and rediscovered ways to solve quadratic equations?

In the second half of the 8th century, when the Baghdad caliph from the Abbasid dynasty Abu-l-Abbas Abd-Allah al-Mamun (712-775) was on an embassy in India, he invited a scientist from Ujjain named Kankah to Baghdad, who taught the Indian system of astronomy in based on the Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta. The Caliph commissioned a written translation of the book into Arabic, which was carried out by the mathematician and philosopher Ibrahim al-Fazari in 771. The translation, made in the form of tables - zija - with the necessary explanations and recommendations, was called “Great Sindhind”. It is known that al-Khorezmi used this work to write his works on astronomy (“Zij al-Khorezmi”) and arithmetic (“Book of Indian Accounting”). ()

As we see, Al-Khwarizmi was well acquainted with Brahmagupta’s book. Yes, he was undoubtedly a major scientist of his time, but by no means the founder of algebra. And if European mathematics received knowledge directly from India, and not through Baghdad, then algebra would now be called some kind of “brahmasphuta”.

Most likely Al-Khorezmi was not an Arab either. Why? Remember how we mentioned that in the Arabic writing system (right to left), writing numbers from left to right looks very unnatural? Couldn't a major mathematician of his time have guessed that it was possible to write numbers from right to left? Surely he could. Not even for the purpose of hiding the fact of borrowing, but simply for reasons of convenience. But he didn't. Why? Quite possibly deliberately so as to leave obvious the fact that this is a foreign system, not Arab. It’s like a message from time immemorial: look people, Arabs have nothing to do with numbers. Our guess is partially confirmed by Wikipedia

Very little information about the scientist’s life has been preserved. Presumably born in Khiva in 783. In some sources, al-Khorezmi is called “al-Majusi,” that is, a magician, from which it is concluded that he came from a family of Zoroastrian priests who later converted to Islam. ()

Zoroastrianism, which Wikipedia mentions, is not an ethnicity, but a religious one. It is clear that if Al-Khorezmi’s family professed Zoroastrianism, then he could not be an Arab. But by whom then? Zoroastrianism was practiced mainly by the Persians, that is, most likely he was a Persian.

An even more sophisticated opponent may say that it was mentioned above that the Baghdad caliph al-Mamun ordered the translation of Brahmagupta’s book, and therefore supported the development of science. So that the reader does not have false feelings about this, let’s look at the history of Khorezm, the homeland of Al-Khorezmi.

In 712, Khorezm was conquered by the Arab commander Kuteiba ibn Muslim, who carried out a brutal massacre of the Khorezm aristocracy. Kuteiba brought down especially cruel repressions on the scientists of Khorezm. As al-Biruni writes in the “Chronicles of Past Generations,” “and by all means, Kuteiba scattered and destroyed everyone who knew the writing of the Khorezmians, who kept their traditions, all the scientists who were among them, so that all this was covered in darkness and there is no true knowledge about what was known from their history at the time of the advent of Islam." ()

This is what the Arab invasion of the enlightened world represented - to slaughter all the scientists, and for the few remaining to build a library in Baghdad.

Al-Khwarizmi was presumably born in 783, that is, approximately 60 years after the arrival of the Arabs. Imagine that your homeland was captured by a tribe of nomads and your grandfathers tell stories in the evenings about how the invaders slaughtered your relatives. Apparently Al-Khorezmi quietly hated the Muslim occupiers, so he left the direction of recording numbers like the Hindus. They say let the Arabian animals suffer at least this much, writing texts from right to left, then from left to right.

What do we have in the bottom line? Arabic numerals are not Arabic at all, but Indian, and the pride of the Arab world, the supposed founder of algebra, the mathematician Al-Khorezmi, did not create algebra and most likely was not even an Arab.