The Merchant and the Mathematician: Commerce and Accounting

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

article

Graziano Gentili¹  Luisa Simonutti²  Daniele C Struppa³ 

[1] Università di Firenze;Istituto per la storia del pensiero filosofico e scientifico moderno C.N.R. Area 3 - Bicocca Milano;Chapman University

关键词: Double entry bookkeeping;    Francesco Datini;    Luca Pacioli;   

DOI  :  10.5642/jhummath.CDRW3514

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Claremont Center for the Mathematical Sciences

【 摘 要 】

In this article we describe the invention of double-entry bookkeeping (or partita doppiaas it was called in Italian), as a fertile intersection between mathematics and early commerce. We focus our attention on this seemingly simple technique that requires only minimal mathematical expertise, but whose discovery is clearly the result of a mathematical way of thinking, in order to make a conceptual point about the role of mathematics as the humus from which disciplines as different as operations research, computer science, and data science have evolved.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND