Lengths, widths, surfaces

"In the 1920s it was recognized, largely as a result of work by Otto Neugebauer and his collaborators, that Babylonian cuneiform tablets included many mathematical texts. Some were concerned with metrology and computation, while others contained mathematical problems. Many of the latter appear to deal with something like school algebra, mostly quadratic equations, describing numerical rules for solution but without giving any reasons for these. Were they, as most interpreters have assumed, an early expression of the "joys of pure mathematics"?". "In this new examination of the texts, Jens Hoyrup proposes a different interpretation, based on a detailed investigation of the terminology and discursive organization of the texts. The texts turn out to speak not of pure numbers, but of the dimensions and areas of rectangles and other measurable geometrical magnitudes, often serving as representatives of other magnitudes (prices, workdays, etc.), much as pure numbers represent concrete magnitudes in modern applied algebra.". "The texts show why the procedures are correct, but do not aim at creating theory, nor are their second-degree "equations" of any practical use. Hoyrup argues that we should focus on the function of the texts within the schools and within Babylonian culture at large. Scribes and their schoolmasters took pride in the particular skills of their craft, and knowing how to solve equations of the second or higher degree allowed them to show off their virtuosity - as much as knowing how to write and speak Sumarian in addition to the Babylonian language of their own times." "The book provides a detailed reading of many tablets and a careful examination of the context in which they were produced."--BOOK JACKET.