If you’ve ever had to add or multiply two measurements in the imperial or english system together, like ⅝ + ⅓ of an inch, you may have sworn a curse and wondered why the U.S. hasn’t gone metric yet. The metric system has the singular advantage of using decimals, which are easier to use in calculations than are fractions.

Decimals seem like they’ve been around forever, but someone had to invent them.  For years, historians credited German mathematician Christopher Clavius with the invention of the decimal point in 1593.  Recently, though, new evidence suggests that an Italian merchant named Giovanni Bianchini had used decimal points as far back as 1441, a 150 years earlier.

This evidence was discovered by Canadian mathematician Glenn Van Brummelen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences and a Professor of Mathematical Science at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. Dr. Van Brummelen called in the Monday 8 o’Clock Buzz to tell us about his discovery.

Photo courtesy of Trinity Western University website

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