where did the shape of numbers come from
Arabic numerals Arabic numerals, also called Hindu–Arabic numerals,[1][2] are the ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, based on the Hindu–Arabic numeral system,[3] the most common system for the symbolic representation of numbers in the world today. In this numeral system, a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a single number, using the position of the digit in the sequence to interpret its value. They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by ancient Indian mathematicians around 500 CE.[3]
Pi The earliest known use of the Greek letter π alone to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter was by Welsh mathematician William Jones in his 1706 work Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos; or, a New Introduction to the Mathematics.[100][101] The Greek letter first appears there in the phrase "1/2 Periphery (π)" in the discussion of a circle with radius one.[102] However, he writes that his equations for π are from the "ready pen of the truly ingenious Mr. John Machin", leading to speculation that Machin may have employed the Greek letter before Jones.[96] Jones' notation was not immediately adopted by other mathematicians, with the fraction notation still being used as late as 1767.[93][103]