system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why are the Arabic numerals (0-9), unlike languages, consistent and widely recognized among almost all modern cultures?
gpt
The Arabic numerals are from India originally and came to Europe from the middle Eastern mathematicians including al-Khwarizmi. He is considered the father of algebra. His books were translated into Latin in 12th century and some were used by universities until 16th century. So basically the numerals are used because they were the ones used when math was invented.