Post #418605

2026-02-26 03:05 UTC

If you&#39;re ever thinking &quot;oh my work will never come to anything&quot; spare a thought for Robert Recorde of Tenby in Wales. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 He invented the equals sign (=) in 1557 (the year before he died) &quot;to auoide the tediouſe repetition of theſe woordes : is equalle to&quot; - and was promptly ignored for 61 years before being picked up again in 1618. #mathematics #Wales #Cymru

Replies (6)

@RJK@theforkiverse.com 2026-02-26 04:31

@chris_bloke I love that we know the name of the guy who invented the equals sign, and I love that everyone was like, “Yep, two short parallel lines pretty much nails it.”

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@simonzerafa@infosec.exchange 2026-02-26 08:23

@chris_bloke Can't be any worse that those working in the BMW factory fitting indicators to the vehicles. What a pointless and unrewarded task 😞

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@BenCotterill@mastodon.social 2026-02-26 09:57

@chris_bloke @purplepadma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXryAnAD5Jw&feature=youtu.be

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@denny@boing.world 2026-02-26 11:58

@chris_bloke I can see how grumpy old men might be a valuable source of thinking on simple time-saving techniques and tricks.

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@snarfblat@theforkiverse.com 2026-02-27 04:49

@chris_bloke You may enjoy this 99pi about the em dash & anti-AI activism https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/658-the-em-dash/

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@level98@mastodon.social 2026-03-02 21:36

@chris_bloke I mean, I might be slightly biased being descended from Welshies, but they *are* a pretty smart bunch! 😀

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