A German merchant of the fifteenth century asked an eminent professor
where he should send his son for a good business education. The professor
responded that German universities would be sufficient to teach the boy
addition and subtraction but he would have to go to Italy to learn
multiplication and division. Before you smile indulgently, try multiplying
or even just adding the Roman numerals CCLXIV, MDCCCIX, DCL, and MLXXXI
without first translating them.
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