ABACUS

Today we enjoy the bloom of technologies, but it was not always like that. People have come a long way to discover these technologies, which allow things to happen so fast and make our lives so much easier. If people of the past knew what technological wonders await them today, they probably would have wanted to reach our time quickly. But that progress cannot be forced, it does not happen with intellectual jumps. Discoveries and progress cannot happen overnight. The progress is a result of a long and painful journey in which small inventions have been accumulated to become one great discovery. Let’s take for example the calculator, which for us is not a miracle at all. It is a device powered by a battery, which helps us to make complex calculations involving complex mathematical operations and large numbers. Today the calculator is a part of many electronic devices - computers, tablets; even our phones already have a calculator. Once this role, but in a very limited way, played an abacus. Yes, abacus, that same abacus, which we think is a toy that helps children to learn to count before they officially go to school. Then, as they get older, they find the abacus too boring and with limited functions as compared for example to electronic games. Admit it - when was the last time you held the abacus in your hands? Do you remember? 

Centuries ago people did not think so. Once the abacus has been an invaluable and much needed tool for many activities. Once, when technology was completely absent and the human life in every country on the planet Earth was completely ordinary, simple, and the electricity was still unknown, then abacus played an extremely important role, it was a big deal. Its discovery was not easy and did not happen overnight. Do not forget what we said about progress - it is a long process of accumulation of intellectual ideas, discoveries and maturity, the progress does not happen overnight. It is often argued that mathematics has a universal language and tools, normally, because of the fact that it can be used in many areas of human activity, for example by engineers, physicists and many others. They all understand its symbolic language without problems. This makes maths universal, it requires no translation to understand her symbolic language. For example, every person in every country will understand in the same way the expression: 2 + 2 = 4. In this sense, mathematics is specific and exact because the sum of specific numbers gives only one correct specific result. However, what is behind the numbers 2 and 4? It is not clear - two apples, two books, two smiles, two galaxies, it could be anything. This makes the mathematics abstract. Mathematics crosses borders between countries freely and its language brings people together. It is a result of the experience of people to understand the life that surrounds them and developed from practical needs to solve real life problems. It is a result of human’s desire to understand how to count, how to measure, how to draw shapes and so on. The abacus is also a result of this desire – to see and to understand the quantified world that surrounds them. You thought it would be simpler, didn't you?

The abacus is known to be the most ancient calculating device. The entire abacus consists of a wooden frame, rod and beads. Each rod of the abacus represents a different place value like hundred, thousands and so on. Each bead of the abacus represents a number, and it is moved along with the rods. The basic addition and subtraction can be easily performed by using the abacus board.

Herodotus was the Greek historian who first of all introduced the use of the abacus in 460 BCE. In 1846, the oldest form of the counting board was formed.

But the archeologists  suggested that the abacus was firstly created in 100 CE. The pebbles called calculi moved on the smooth table for the Roman abacus. Calculi on the Roman abacus are known to be calculus. It was the ancient way of counting.

The word Abacus is a Latin word taken from the Greek language, and it means “Flat Surface”. At early times, people used to draw the lines on the sand to perform addition and subtraction. In Japan, the abacus is known to be the ‘Soroban’

Whenever we talk about the abacus, we can never forget the people of China because they use an abacus in their everyday life even today. Suanpan was the Chinese version of the abacus. Still in this modern age of highly scientific calculators Chinese people use the abacus. The rules for the use of this version of the abacus were reported in 200 BCD. It can perform addition and subtraction in an accurate way.

The Chinese abacus influenced the other Asian countries. The people of Korea adopted the abacus of China in 1400 CE. It was just called a jusan and supan. Soroban was the abacus of Japan, and it was not produced in Japan but was imported from China in 1600 CE.

Like all other countries discussed above, Japan also used the abacus as the calculating device. Japanese soroban is the Japanese version of the abacus. In this modern age still the primary schools of Japan teach  pupils how to use abacus. 

The first abacus in the country of Russia was imported from France in the 1820s. Still  some people use it. Abacus was the old way of counting. In the very beginning when people realized the importance of counting they thought of making a device which will help to make the process of counting even easier. But in this modern age of technology development micro calculators are found. 

Abacus is very old, almost several thousand years. So old is the need of people to count and calculate the objects around them. People’s curiosity leads to progress.

Here     are some activities for you:

Activity 1: Can you try to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the use of the abacus, the calculator and the computer? 

Activity 2: Can you try to predict what the technological future holds for us? What’s next after the computers? Is it our talking and thinking twin robot? This will help us to be in two places at once because our twin could represent us in other places. What do you think of this idea?