Calculus

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William A Hupy
Lexiterian
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue May 05, 2020 8:53 am

Calculus

Postby William A Hupy » Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:20 pm

Neat history irony.

The two inventors of calculus suffered from calculi. As in ureteral stones. (Latin root word is calx for stone as the ancients used stones for counting.)

Newton and Leibniz.

bbeeton
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 552
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2020 11:34 am
Location: Providence, RI

Re: Calculus

Postby bbeeton » Tue Jan 25, 2022 5:48 pm

There are other kinds of calculus, and I don't mean the kind that is the bane of engineering students.

The concretion on teeth, often referred to as "plaque", is also called calculus. Probably also derived from "calx".

Is "chalk" another derivative of "calx"? I've encountered more than one calculus instructor who had a propensity to eat chalk while writing on the blackboard.


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