82 SPECIAL TOPICS IN THEORETICAL ARITHMETIC

sary to measure, change would seem not only possible, but
probable. The advantage of change is so great.

Ten is strongly intrencht in custom, in language, in books.
But it is only about four hundred years since the Hindu-
Arabic numerals began to get a firm footing in commerce and
in the schools, displacing the Roman numerals (*). And it is
only about one hundred years since the use of decimal fractions
became general (?).

The change from Roman to Hindu numerals took about
300 years. Nowadays changes take place more rapidly. So
we may look forward with hope that our successors will, before
many generations have past, see the crushing of the Tyranny
of Ten (3).

(1) See D. E. Smith, The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 53,
New York, The Macmillan Co., 1903.

(2) See the same book, p. 56.

(®) This apt characterization of the sway of the decimal system over
the world I owe to former President Charles H. Levermore of Adelphi
College, winner of the Bok Peace Prize.