Nov 8 Trivium and Quadrivium Article Response

The article introduced some interesting things. To begin, this article has a Latin title and it is separated into two parts, one of which has 3 topics and the other has 4. I initially saw this as a distinction between what is now known in modern day as the Humanities and STEM. This practice has been around since the medieval times. Either way, both of these parts required people to be literate and well versed cultured citizens. About 15%-30% of the population were like this back then. So there weren't that many opportunities for serfs and labor people to grow in their knowledge in these areas. However, looking at it today, most people can read and write, so the literacy rate has gone up. Many people are engaging in areas of both fields. Kids are learning a variety of everything in their young elementary years, and begin to specialize more and more as they get older. Another point that stood out was the different methods of division. There was the abacist method which was complex and cumbersome so it wasn't that favored, thus it got the name "iron division". It required a good understanding of the abacus and the ability to manipulate the beads to represent the division process physically. I personally had a hard time learning the abacus (mine was the Chinese suanpan) since there were some things to keep at the back of your head when doing the computations. On the other hand, the algorist method was simpler and more straightforward, thus it got the name "golden division". It used written calculations and was based on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, which included the use of zero and place value, so it was more efficient to do the steps physically on paper. To get to this point wasn't that easy initially, as switching from the previously used Roman numerals to Hindu-Arabic numeral system took over two centuries. This newer method also allowed calculating the date for Easter much easier than before. I never knew why the date for Easter always changed annually, but it definitely is dependent on something, just like how the Spring Festival is dependent on the lunar cycles. Seeing now that Easter's date is determined by the Golden Number and the Dominical Letter and all the math involved behind it made me realize the complexity of the arithmetic people centuries ago had to perform. This, blended in with the fact that the clerics should know how to do the calculations emphasized the importance and significance this key date played in their faith.