Introduction

Mathematics is a universal language that underpins everything from everyday calculations to complex scientific theories. But who exactly created math? This post explores the origins of mathematics and highlights key figures who have shaped its development, focusing on specific contributions such as the creation of variables and the concept of division.

The Beginnings of Mathematics

Early Civilizations and the Foundation of Math:
Mathematics did not originate from a single individual but evolved through the contributions of various early civilizations. Ancient cultures like the Sumerians, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks all played critical roles in developing the basic principles of math that we use today.

The Concept of Variables in Mathematics

Introduction to Variables:
The concept of variables, fundamental in algebra, can be traced back to the ancient Babylonians, who were among the first to use symbols to represent unknown quantities in their mathematical equations around 1800 BCE. However, the systematic use of variables was significantly advanced by Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century, whose works laid the foundation for modern algebra.

The Development of Mathematical Division

Origins of Division:
Division as a concept has been around since ancient times, used by early civilizations such as the Egyptians and Babylonians for practical purposes like distributing food and goods or dividing land. The symbol for division that we are familiar with today was developed much later. The obelus (÷), now commonly used in English-speaking countries, was first used by Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn in 1659 in his book “Teutsche Algebra.”

Key Figures in the History of Mathematics

Pythagoras and Euclid:
While not the creators of math, figures like Pythagoras and Euclid have had immense influence on its development. Pythagoras is best known for the Pythagorean Theorem in geometry, and Euclid’s work, “The Elements,” is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, laying down the axiomatic method still used in mathematics today.

Al-Khwarizmi:
Often referred to as the ‘Father of Algebra,’ Al-Khwarizmi’s contributions go beyond introducing variables. His works in the 9th century introduced the decimal positional number system to the Western world.

Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz:
Both credited with the development of calculus independently in the 17th century, Newton and Leibniz’s contributions to mathematics have enabled the advancement of engineering, economics, and science.

Math Symbols List

List of all mathematical symbols and signs – meaning and examples.

Basic math symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
=	equals sign	equality	5 = 2+3 5 is equal to 2+3
≠	not equal sign	inequality	5 ≠ 4 5 is not equal to 4
≈	approximately equal	approximation	sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01, x ≈ y means x is approximately equal to y
>	strict inequality	greater than	5 > 4 5 is greater than 4
<	strict inequality	less than	4 < 5 4 is less than 5
≥	inequality	greater than or equal to	5 ≥ 4, x ≥ y means x is greater than or equal to y
≤	inequality	less than or equal to	4 ≤ 5, x ≤ y means x is less than or equal to y
( )	parentheses	calculate expression inside first	2 × (3+5) = 16
[ ]	brackets	calculate expression inside first	[(1+2)×(1+5)] = 18
+	plus sign	addition	1 + 1 = 2
−	minus sign	subtraction	2 − 1 = 1
±	plus – minus	both plus and minus operations	3 ± 5 = 8 or -2
±	minus – plus	both minus and plus operations	3 ∓ 5 = -2 or 8
*	asterisk	multiplication	2 * 3 = 6
×	times sign	multiplication	2 × 3 = 6
⋅	multiplication dot	multiplication	2 ⋅ 3 = 6
÷	division sign / obelus	division	6 ÷ 2 = 3
/	division slash	division	6 / 2 = 3
—	horizontal line	division / fraction	$\frac{6}{2}=3$
mod	modulo	remainder calculation	7 mod 2 = 1
.	period	decimal point, decimal separator	2.56 = 2+56/100
a^b	power	exponent	2³= 8
a^b	caret	exponent	2 ^ 3 = 8
√a	square root	√a ⋅ √a = a	√9 = ±3
³√a	cube root	³√a ⋅ ³√a ⋅ ³√a = a	³√8 = 2
⁴√a	fourth root	⁴√a ⋅ ⁴√a ⋅ ⁴√a ⋅ ⁴√a = a	⁴√16 = ±2
ⁿ√a	n-th root (radical)		for n=3, ⁿ√8 = 2
%	percent	1% = 1/100	10% × 30 = 3
‰	per-mille	1‰ = 1/1000 = 0.1%	10‰ × 30 = 0.3
ppm	per-million	1ppm = 1/1000000	10ppm × 30 = 0.0003
ppb	per-billion	1ppb = 1/1000000000	10ppb × 30 = 3×10^-7
ppt	per-trillion	1ppt = 10^-12	10ppt × 30 = 3×10^-10

Geometry symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
∠	angle	formed by two rays	∠ABC = 30°
	measured angle		ABC = 30°
	spherical angle		AOB = 30°
∟	right angle	= 90°	α = 90°
°	degree	1 turn = 360°	α = 60°
deg	degree	1 turn = 360deg	α = 60deg
′	prime	arcminute, 1° = 60′	α = 60°59′
″	double prime	arcsecond, 1′ = 60″	α = 60°59′59″
	line	infinite line
AB	line segment	line from point A to point B
	ray	line that start from point A
	arc	arc from point A to point B	= 60°
⊥	perpendicular	perpendicular lines (90° angle)	AC ⊥ BC
∥	parallel	parallel lines	AB ∥ CD
≅	congruent to	equivalence of geometric shapes and size	∆ABC≅ ∆XYZ
~	similarity	same shapes, not same size	∆ABC~ ∆XYZ
Δ	triangle	triangle shape	ΔABC≅ ΔBCD
\|x–y\|	distance	distance between points x and y	\| x–y \| = 5
π	pi constant	π = 3.141592654… is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle	c = π⋅d = 2⋅π⋅r
rad	radians	radians angle unit	360° = 2π rad
^c	radians	radians angle unit	360° = 2π ^c
grad	gradians / gons	grads angle unit	360° = 400 grad
^g	gradians / gons	grads angle unit	360° = 400 ^g

Algebra symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
x	x variable	unknown value to find	when 2x = 4, then x = 2
≡	equivalence	identical to
≜	equal by definition	equal by definition
:=	equal by definition	equal by definition
~	approximately equal	weak approximation	11 ~ 10
≈	approximately equal	approximation	sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01
∝	proportional to	proportional to	y ∝ x when y = kx, kconstant
∞	lemniscate	infinity symbol
≪	much less than	much less than	1 ≪ 1000000
≫	much greater than	much greater than	1000000 ≫ 1
( )	parentheses	calculate expression inside first	2 * (3+5) = 16
[ ]	brackets	calculate expression inside first	[(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18
{ }	braces	set
⌊x⌋	floor brackets	rounds number to lower integer	⌊4.3⌋ = 4
⌈x⌉	ceiling brackets	rounds number to upper integer	⌈4.3⌉ = 5
x!	exclamation mark	factorial	4! = 123*4 = 24
\| x \|	vertical bars	absolute value	\| -5 \| = 5
f (x)	function of x	maps values of x to f(x)	f (x) = 3x+5
(f ∘ g)	function composition	(f ∘ g) (x) = f (g(x))	f (x)=3x,g(x)=x-1 ⇒(f ∘ g)(x)=3(x-1)
(a,b)	open interval	(a,b) = {x \| a < x < b}	x∈ (2,6)
[a,b]	closed interval	[a,b] = {x \| a ≤ x ≤ b}	x ∈ [2,6]
∆	delta	change / difference	∆t = t₁– t₀
∆	discriminant	Δ = b² – 4ac
∑	sigma	summation – sum of all values in range of series	∑ x_i= x₁+x₂+…+x_n
∑∑	sigma	double summation
∏	capital pi	product – product of all values in range of series	∏ x_i=x₁∙x₂∙…∙x_n
e	e constant / Euler’s number	e = 2.718281828…	e = lim (1+1/x)^x , x→∞
γ	Euler-Mascheroni constant	γ = 0.5772156649…
φ	golden ratio	golden ratio constant
π	pi constant	π = 3.141592654… is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle	c = π⋅d = 2⋅π⋅r

Linear Algebra Symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
·	dot	scalar product	a · b
×	cross	vector product	a × b
A⊗B	tensor product	tensor product of A and B	A ⊗ B
$\langle x,y \rangle$	inner product
[ ]	brackets	matrix of numbers
( )	parentheses	matrix of numbers
\| A \|	determinant	determinant of matrix A
det(A)	determinant	determinant of matrix A
\|\| x \|\|	double vertical bars	norm
A^T	transpose	matrix transpose	(A^T)_ij = (A)_ji
A^†	Hermitian matrix	matrix conjugate transpose	(A^†)_ij = (A)_ji
A^*	Hermitian matrix	matrix conjugate transpose	(A^)_ij* = (A)_ji
A^-1	inverse matrix	A A^-1 = I
rank(A)	matrix rank	rank of matrix A	rank(A) = 3
dim(U)	dimension	dimension of matrix A	dim(U) = 3

Probability and statistics symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
P(A)	probability function	probability of event A	P(A) = 0.5
P(A ⋂ B)	probability of events intersection	probability that of events A and B	P(A⋂B) = 0.5
P(A ⋃ B)	probability of events union	probability that of events A or B	P(A⋃B) = 0.5
P(A \| B)	conditional probability function	probability of event A given event B occured	P(A \| B) = 0.3
f (x)	probability density function (pdf)	P(a ≤ x ≤ b) = ∫ f (x) dx
F(x)	cumulative distribution function (cdf)	F(x) = P(X≤ x)
μ	population mean	mean of population values	μ = 10
E(X)	expectation value	expected value of random variable X	E(X) = 10
E(X \| Y)	conditional expectation	expected value of random variable X given Y	E(X \| Y=2) = 5
var(X)	variance	variance of random variable X	var(X) = 4
σ²	variance	variance of population values	σ²= 4
std(X)	standard deviation	standard deviation of random variable X	std(X) = 2
σ_X	standard deviation	standard deviation value of random variable X	σ_X= 2
	median	middle value of random variable x
cov(X,Y)	covariance	covariance of random variables X and Y	cov(X,Y) = 4
corr(X,Y)	correlation	correlation of random variables X and Y	corr(X,Y) = 0.6
ρ_X,Y	correlation	correlation of random variables X and Y	ρ_X,Y = 0.6
∑	summation	summation – sum of all values in range of series
∑∑	double summation	double summation
Mo	mode	value that occurs most frequently in population
MR	mid-range	MR = (x_max+x_min)/2
Md	sample median	half the population is below this value
Q₁	lower / first quartile	25% of population are below this value
Q₂	median / second quartile	50% of population are below this value = median of samples
Q₃	upper / third quartile	75% of population are below this value
x	sample mean	average / arithmetic mean	x = (2+5+9) / 3 = 5.333
s ²	sample variance	population samples variance estimator	s ² = 4
s	sample standard deviation	population samples standard deviation estimator	s = 2
z_x	standard score	z_x = (x-x) / s_x
X ~	distribution of X	distribution of random variable X	X ~ N(0,3)
N(μ,σ²)	normal distribution	gaussian distribution	X ~ N(0,3)
U(a,b)	uniform distribution	equal probability in range a,b	X ~ U(0,3)
exp(λ)	exponential distribution	f (x) = λe^–λx , x≥0
gamma(c, λ)	gamma distribution	f (x) = λ c x^c-1e^–λx / Γ(c), x≥0
χ²(k)	chi-square distribution	f (x) = x^k^/2-1e^–x/2 / ( 2^k/2Γ(k/2) )
F (k₁, k₂)	F distribution
Bin(n,p)	binomial distribution	f (k) = _nC_k p^k(1-p)^n-k
Poisson(λ)	Poisson distribution	f (k) = λ^ke^–λ / k!
Geom(p)	geometric distribution	f (k) = p(1-p)^k
HG(N,K,n)	hyper-geometric distribution
Bern(p)	Bernoulli distribution

Combinatorics Symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
n!	factorial	n! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅…⋅n	5! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅4⋅5 = 120
_nP_k	permutation	$_{n}P_{k}=\frac{n!}{(n-k)!}$	₅P₃ = 5! / (5-3)! = 60
_nC_k	combination	$_{n}C_{k}=\binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}$	₅C₃ = 5!/[3!(5-3)!]=10

Symbol

Symbol Name

Meaning / definition

Example

factorial

n! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅…⋅n

5! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅4⋅5 = 120

_nP_k

permutation

$_{n}P_{k}=\frac{n!}{(n-k)!}$

₅P₃ = 5! / (5-3)! = 60

_nC_k

combination

$_{n}C_{k}=\binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}$

₅C₃ = 5!/[3!(5-3)!]=10

Set theory symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
{ }	set	a collection of elements	A = {3,7,9,14}, B = {9,14,28}
A ∩ B	intersection	objects that belong to set A and set B	A ∩ B = {9,14}
A ∪ B	union	objects that belong to set A or set B	A ∪ B = {3,7,9,14,28}
A ⊆ B	subset	A is a subset of B. set A is included in set B.	{9,14,28} ⊆ {9,14,28}
A ⊂ B	proper subset / strict subset	A is a subset of B, but A is not equal to B.	{9,14} ⊂ {9,14,28}
A ⊄ B	not subset	set A is not a subset of set B	{9,66} ⊄ {9,14,28}
A ⊇ B	superset	A is a superset of B. set A includes set B	{9,14,28} ⊇ {9,14,28}
A ⊃ B	proper superset / strict superset	A is a superset of B, but B is not equal to A.	{9,14,28} ⊃ {9,14}
A ⊅ B	not superset	set A is not a superset of set B	{9,14,28} ⊅ {9,66}
2^A	power set	all subsets of A
$\mathcal{P}(A)$	power set	all subsets of A
A = B	equality	both sets have the same members	A={3,9,14}, B={3,9,14}, A=B
A^c	complement	all the objects that do not belong to set A
A \ B	relative complement	objects that belong to A and not to B	A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A-B = {9,14}
A – B	relative complement	objects that belong to A and not to B	A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A-B = {9,14}
A ∆ B	symmetric difference	objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection	A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A ∆ B = {1,2,9,14}
A ⊖ B	symmetric difference	objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection	A = {3,9,14}, B = {1,2,3}, A ⊖ B = {1,2,9,14}
a∈A	element of, belongs to	set membership	A={3,9,14}, 3 ∈ A
x∉A	not element of	no set membership	A={3,9,14}, 1 ∉ A
(a,b)	ordered pair	collection of 2 elements
A×B	cartesian product	set of all ordered pairs from A and B	A×B = {(a,b)\|a∈A , b∈B}
\|A\|	cardinality	the number of elements of set A	A={3,9,14}, \|A\|=3
#A	cardinality	the number of elements of set A	A={3,9,14}, #A=3
\|	vertical bar	such that	A={x\|3<x<14}
	aleph-null	infinite cardinality of natural numbers set
	aleph-one	cardinality of countable ordinal numbers set
Ø	empty set	Ø = { }	C = {Ø}
$\mathbb{U}$	universal set	set of all possible values
$\mathbb{N}$ ₀	natural numbers / whole numbers set (with zero)	$\mathbb{N}$ ₀ = {0,1,2,3,4,…}	0 ∈ $\mathbb{N}$ ₀
$\mathbb{N}$ ₁	natural numbers / whole numbers set (without zero)	$\mathbb{N}$ ₁ = {1,2,3,4,5,…}	6 ∈ $\mathbb{N}$ ₁
$\mathbb{Z}$	integer numbers set	$\mathbb{Z}$ = {…-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,…}	-6 ∈ $\mathbb{Z}$
$\mathbb{Q}$	rational numbers set	$\mathbb{Q}$ = {x \| x=a/b, a,b∈ $\mathbb{Z}$ }	2/6 ∈ $\mathbb{Q}$
$\mathbb{R}$	real numbers set	$\mathbb{R}$ = {x \| -∞ < x <∞}	6.343434∈ $\mathbb{R}$
$\mathbb{C}$	complex numbers set	$\mathbb{C}$ = {z \| z=a+bi, -∞<a<∞, -∞<b<∞}	6+2i ∈ $\mathbb{C}$

Logic symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
⋅	and	and	x ⋅ y
^	caret / circumflex	and	x ^ y
&	ampersand	and	x & y
+	plus	or	x + y
∨	reversed caret	or	x ∨ y
\|	vertical line	or	x \| y
x‘	single quote	not – negation	x‘
x	bar	not – negation	x
¬	not	not – negation	¬ x
!	exclamation mark	not – negation	! x
⊕	circled plus / oplus	exclusive or – xor	x ⊕ y
~	tilde	negation	~ x
⇒	implies
⇔	equivalent	if and only if (iff)
↔	equivalent	if and only if (iff)
∀	for all
∃	there exists
∄	there does not exists
∴	therefore
∵	because / since

Calculus & analysis symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
$\lim_{x\to x0}f(x)$	limit	limit value of a function
ε	epsilon	represents a very small number, near zero	ε → 0
e	e constant / Euler’s number	e = 2.718281828…	e = lim (1+1/x)^x , x→∞
y ‘	derivative	derivative – Lagrange’s notation	(3x³)’ = 9x²
y ”	second derivative	derivative of derivative	(3x³)” = 18x
y⁽ⁿ⁾	nth derivative	n times derivation	(3x³)⁽³⁾ = 18
$\frac{dy}{dx}$	derivative	derivative – Leibniz’s notation	d(3x³)/dx = 9x²
$\frac{d^2y}{dx^2}$	second derivative	derivative of derivative	d²(3x³)/dx² = 18x
$\frac{d^ny}{dx^n}$	nth derivative	n times derivation
$\dot{y}$	time derivative	derivative by time – Newton’s notation
	time second derivative	derivative of derivative
D_xy	derivative	derivative – Euler’s notation
D_x²y	second derivative	derivative of derivative
$\frac{\partial f(x,y)}{\partial x}$	partial derivative		∂(x²+y²)/∂x= 2x
∫	integral	opposite to derivation	∫ f(x)dx
∫∫	double integral	integration of function of 2 variables	∫∫ f(x,y)dxdy
∫∫∫	triple integral	integration of function of 3 variables	∫∫∫ f(x,y,z)dxdydz
∮	closed contour / line integral
∯	closed surface integral
∰	closed volume integral
[a,b]	closed interval	[a,b] = {x \| a ≤ x ≤ b}
(a,b)	open interval	(a,b) = {x \| a < x < b}
i	imaginary unit	i ≡ √-1	z = 3 + 2i
z*	complex conjugate	z = a+bi → z*=a–bi	z* = 3 – 2i
z	complex conjugate	z = a+bi → z = a–bi	z = 3 – 2i
Re(z)	real part of a complex number	z = a+bi → Re(z)=a	Re(3 – 2i) = 3
Im(z)	imaginary part of a complex number	z = a+bi → Im(z)=b	Im(3 – 2i) = -2
\| z \|	absolute value/magnitude of a complex number	\|z\| = \|a+bi\| = √(a²+b²)	\|3 – 2i\| = √13
arg(z)	argument of a complex number	The angle of the radius in the complex plane	arg(3 + 2i) = 33.7°
∇	nabla / del	gradient / divergence operator	∇f (x,y,z)
	vector
	unit vector
x * y	convolution	y(t) = x(t) * h(t)
	Laplace transform	F(s) = {f (t)}
	Fourier transform	X(ω) = {f (t)}
δ	delta function
∞	lemniscate	infinity symbol

Numeral symbols

Name	Western Arabic	Roman	Eastern Arabic	Hebrew
zero	0		٠
one	1	I	١	א
two	2	II	٢	ב
three	3	III	٣	ג
four	4	IV	٤	ד
five	5	V	٥	ה
six	6	VI	٦	ו
seven	7	VII	٧	ז
eight	8	VIII	٨	ח
nine	9	IX	٩	ט
ten	10	X	١٠	י
eleven	11	XI	١١	יא
twelve	12	XII	١٢	יב
thirteen	13	XIII	١٣	יג
fourteen	14	XIV	١٤	יד
fifteen	15	XV	١٥	טו
sixteen	16	XVI	١٦	טז
seventeen	17	XVII	١٧	יז
eighteen	18	XVIII	١٨	יח
nineteen	19	XIX	١٩	יט
twenty	20	XX	٢٠	כ
thirty	30	XXX	٣٠	ל
forty	40	XL	٤٠	מ
fifty	50	L	٥٠	נ
sixty	60	LX	٦٠	ס
seventy	70	LXX	٧٠	ע
eighty	80	LXXX	٨٠	פ
ninety	90	XC	٩٠	צ
one hundred	100	C	١٠٠	ק

Greek alphabet letters

Upper Case Letter	Lower Case Letter	Greek Letter Name	English Equivalent	Letter Name Pronounce
Α	α	Alpha	a	al-fa
Β	β	Beta	b	be-ta
Γ	γ	Gamma	g	ga-ma
Δ	δ	Delta	d	del-ta
Ε	ε	Epsilon	e	ep-si-lon
Ζ	ζ	Zeta	z	ze-ta
Η	η	Eta	h	eh-ta
Θ	θ	Theta	th	te-ta
Ι	ι	Iota	i	io-ta
Κ	κ	Kappa	k	ka-pa
Λ	λ	Lambda	l	lam-da
Μ	μ	Mu	m	m-yoo
Ν	ν	Nu	n	noo
Ξ	ξ	Xi	x	x-ee
Ο	ο	Omicron	o	o-mee-c-ron
Π	π	Pi	p	pa-yee
Ρ	ρ	Rho	r	row
Σ	σ	Sigma	s	sig-ma
Τ	τ	Tau	t	ta-oo
Υ	υ	Upsilon	u	oo-psi-lon
Φ	φ	Phi	ph	f-ee
Χ	χ	Chi	ch	kh-ee
Ψ	ψ	Psi	ps	p-see
Ω	ω	Omega	o	o-me-ga

Roman numerals

Number	Roman numeral
0	not defined
1	I
2	II
3	III
4	IV
5	V
6	VI
7	VII
8	VIII
9	IX
10	X
11	XI
12	XII
13	XIII
14	XIV
15	XV
16	XVI
17	XVII
18	XVIII
19	XIX
20	XX
30	XXX
40	XL
50	L
60	LX
70	LXX
80	LXXX
90	XC
100	C
200	CC
300	CCC
400	CD
500	D
600	DC
700	DCC
800	DCCC
900	CM
1000	M
5000	V
10000	X
50000	L
100000	C
500000	D
1000000	M

Conclusion

Mathematics is a field that has been developed over millennia, with contributions from countless individuals across different cultures and eras. While it’s not possible to credit one person with ‘creating’ math, we can appreciate the many mathematicians who have contributed to its rich and ongoing development.