Algorithms, Monks, And Merchants: Computing In Everyday Life In The Middle Ages - Softcover

Ausiello, Giorgio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9819812836 ISBN 13: 9789819812837

Publisher: WSPC, 2025

Synopsis

This book explores the tight relationship that existed between application needs and computational problem-solving methods during the Middle Ages, particularly the period between the 9th and 15th centuries. It was a time of great cultural and economic evolution, starting with the blooming phase of Arab science and continuing with the acquisition of Hindu-Arabic computation methods (based on the decimal positional number system) in Western Europe. The aim is to show, by means of suitable examples, how in the Middle Ages mathematics and computation were tightly related to the solution of everyday life problems. These ranges from religious problems like computing the date of Easter to land measurement and financial computations, as well as handling various volumes and managing agricultural resources. In particular, during the late medieval centuries when the economy saw a substantial upswing, merchants' activity required strong computational skills to solve a great variety of problems. It is such need that led to the creation of the so called 'abacus schools' that the sons of merchants, primarily Italians but also from other European regions, attended during their boyhood to learn computing techniques.

About this title

About the Author

Giorgio Ausiello is currently Professor Emeritus at the Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering of Sapienza University of Rome. From 1966 to 1980, he was a researcher at the Italian National Research Council. From 1980 to 2011, he was a full professor of Theoretical Computer Science at the aforementioned department. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Paris-Dauphine. In 1996, he was elected a member of the Academia Europaea and is a Fellow of the European Association of Theoretical Computer Science and the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association. He is co-Editor in Chief of the ARCoSS Subline of Springer LNCS. He is also an editor for both the International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science (World Scientific) and Theoretical Computer Science (Elsevier). Selected book publications: G Ausiello, A Marchetti-Spaccamela, M Protasi, Teoria e progetto di algoritmi fondamentali, F Angeli, 1985; G Ausiello, P Crescenzi, G Gambosi, V Kann, A Marchetti Spaccamela, M Protasi, Complexity and Approximation: Combinatorial Optimization Problems and their Approximability Properties, Springer, 1999; G Ausiello, R Petreschi (Eds), The Power of Algorithms, Springer, 2013; G Ausiello, F d'Amore, G Gambosi, L Laura, Linguaggi, Modelli, Complessità, F Angeli, 2014; G Ausiello, The Making of a New Science: A Personal Journey through the Early Years of Theoretical Computer Science, Springer, 2018

Edition details

• Publisher: WSPC
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9819812836
• ISBN 13: 9789819812837
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200