"That so much attention was paid to fractions is explained by the fact that in early times their treatment was found difficult. The Egyptians and Greeks simplified the problem by reducing a fraction to the sum of several fractions, in each of which the numerator was unity, the sole exception to this rule being the fraction 2/3. This remained the Greek practice until the sixth century of our era. The Romans, on the other hand, generally kept the denominator constant and equal to twelve, expressing the fraction (approximately) as so many twelfths. The Babylonians did the same in astronomy, except that they used sixty as the constant denominator; and from them through the Greeks the modern division of a degree into sixty equal parts is derived. Thus in one way or the other the difficulty of having to consider changes in both numerator and denominator was evaded. To-day when using decimals we often keep a fixed denominator, thus reverting to the Roman practice."
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A Short Account of the History of Mathematics
A Short Account of the History of Mathematics was written 1888 by W. W. Rouse Ball. Later editions followed in 1893, 1901 and 1905. Ball divides this book into three periods, which he describes as follows. The First Period, Mathematics under Greek Influence (Ch. II-VII) begins with the teaching of Thales, circ. 600 B.C., and ends with the capture of Alexandria by the Mohammedans in or about 641 A.D. The characteristic feature of this period is the development of Geometry. The Second Period, Math
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