John Marsh and the curious world of decimal arithmetic (Q1711766)

The author's abstract is useful for a description of this paper: ``In the early eighteenth century, techniques of computation for decimal fractions, especially non-terminating repeating decimals, were being developed amid a debate over their utility compared to common fractions for merchants and tradesmen facing complicated metrological and currency systems. That is, we are almost exclusively concerned with procedures for manipulating decimal representations of rational numbers; irrationals get only a brief mention. The most comprehensive exploration of these arithmetical techniques was undertaken by John Marsh in his \textit{Decimal arithmetic made perfect} of 1742. In this paper we explain Marsh's achievement, locate his contribution in the context of earlier work, and consider his audience and its implications as evidence for the depth and spread of interest in mathematics in England.'' In the introduction to this paper, the main attention is given to a brief description of the book \textit{Decimal arithmetic made perfect}, which is Marsh's only known contribution to the mathematical literature, as well as Marsh's collection of sources for the last-mentioned book. The paper consists of the following sections: \begin{itemize} \item \textit{Basic Definitions and Propositions.} Here Marsh's terminology and notations introduced in his book and some of his explanations are considered. \item \textit{Addition and Subtraction.} This section is devoted to corresponding techniques of decimal arithmetic described by Marsh. These techniques are discussed by the author of this paper in detail. \item \textit{Interlude.} This section is devoted to ``a Compendious Method, how to divide a Number by any proposed Number of 9's''. \item \textit{Multiplication and Division.} Marsh's approaches to multiplication and division of decimal fractions are discussed. \item \textit{Involution and Evolution.} ``Involution was the term for raising a number up to an (integral) power, and evolution is the extraction of roots.'' \item \textit{Tables.} ``In the final section of his book, Marsh provides a collection of useful tables with accompanying explanations and commentary, as well as an appendix on the standard rules of arithmetic with decimals together with the general procedure of reduction of any common fraction to its decimal equivalent (the rule he had glossed over earlier in the chapter on division).'' \item \textit{Why?} This section is devoted to Marsh's motivation and purpose to write this book, its significance, etc. \end{itemize} Brief explanations of decimal arithmetic by other mathematicians are given as well. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1403.01006].