Abstract

AGUIRRE, Jorge. Towards the ITCs Era. Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2011, vol.6, n.18, pp.65-74. ISSN 1850-0013.

It is shown that the human capacity to refer to quantities arises from cultural constructions and  how these constructions lead to the concept of number and its representation. We tell how such constructions took place in some civilizations. We refer to the cardinal and ordinal approach, to positional number systems and their advantages and to the advanced number systems attained by the main American civilizations. Later, we present the development of devices for the automation of arithmetic operations and, finally, we show how imperious social needs lead to the development of digital computers and to the integration of them with communication technology, giving birth to the age of ICT.

Keywords : Numbers system; Calculating devices; Computer; ICT.

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