Terry Moore: Terry Moore: Per què "x" és la incògnita?

Terry Moore: Per què "x" és la incògnita?

Per què la lletra "x" és el símbol d'allò desconegut?
En aquesta xerrada breu i divertida, Terry Moore ens dóna la resposta a aquesta pregunta. I és sorprenent!

The symbol 'x' represents the unknown because medieval translators struggled to capture Arabic sounds in their own languages. When Arabic mathematical texts reached Spain, the word 'shayun'—meaning 'something' or 'unknown'—could not be directly translated, so scholars substituted Greek and Latin letters. Over centuries, this workaround turned a simple letter into a global icon of mystery, now seen everywhere from math class to pop culture.