Why is 'x' the unknown? | Terry Moore

www.ted.com Why is 'x' the symbol for an unknown? In this short and funny talk, Terry Moore gives the surprising answer.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate
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[@archerrobinhood]

Really interesting because in the Maltese language (which has Arabic routes) the letter 'X' is pronounced as 'Shh'!

[@PerfectMo]

Thats really cool! Btw are you still alive?

[@kazisharmin6079]

@@PerfectMo 😆

[@RafahDeath-ms3hy]

​@@PerfectMoyou are still alive?

[@DanielSouza..]

In portuguese too

[@cycler8]

Arabic is indeed a very logical, very consistent language. It also has so many sounds - consonants - totally strage to european languages.

[@lovebossdz131]

And their is 12 Million words in Arabic

[@user-1g6hfpy4y.]

Больше всего звуков наверное в ингушском языке

[@josephostar3517]

As an Arabian I apologize for all the students that failed in their math exams because of X

[@hustlewithhimanshu8899]

We won't forgive you. Ever 😠 😆

[@josephostar3517]

@@hustlewithhimanshu8899 same. I can't forgive my ancestors

[@hustlewithhimanshu8899]

@@josephostar3517 😆😆😆 Jokes apart my friend. I think they made maths easier. It would have been even harder otherwise.

[@danielrasheedi]

when al shayun was replace by the greek letter χ, what the word become? al khayun??? please helppp

[@tarusake7326]

Hehhhhh

[@alazdi]

يوم ان كنا مسلمين قولاً وفعلاً كنا اهلا للعلوم والحضاره .

[@AnasALMARIE]

One of the most short and enjoyable on TED so far.

[@begumercemal7204]

Very inspiring information. While I was studying at high school, fistly my friend recommended this speech. When I watched, I liked very much.

[@Ilelo1]

انا شحص من الصومال من مواليد المكة الربية السعودية وبفضلها تربيت في مجتمع يتحدث باللغة العربية وهذا الامر افضل ما حصل حياتي

[@bananabread6284]

what is this

[@ibr7515]

Here's the translation kinda: "I'm a Somali person, but was born in Saudi arabia (mekka specifically)" then he talks about how much he loves the language, and how magical it is, that's basically it :)

[@sarveshmalayanss2572]

@@ibr7515 thanks

[@peopleslive6868]

سبحان الله خالق اللغات والبشر وجاعل اللغة العربية لغة القرآن الكريم المعجز ... وقد تحدى البشر أن يأتوا بسورةٍ من مثله او حتى اية ...ولقد احسنت الوصف ... فأن من البيانِ لسحراً ..وهي بالفعل لغةْ مختاره لتكون خارقةً للطبيعة مخلوقةً من الله وحبها خالدٌ خلود الدنيا والمرجح ان تكون لغة اهل الجنة...اللهم اجعلنا منهم .... تحياتي

[@user-if7zr8ln8l]

I didn't know that. This story is so interesting!!!

[@wilhufftarkin8543]

But the good thing about this is that it helped us to make mathematics highly symbolic and therefore more simple to write complex things.

[@bacinthezahab7818]

good remarque. Human history is amazing , I don't think anything is a coincidence though , but definitely not always accurately calculated by intelligent minds. The only explanation for me is presence of a greater planner.

[@BigBadBong]

This man gained my respect, as he showed the respect to my mother language !

[@itsbilal9876]

Not Showed its X-owed

[@tornquist92]

It's amazing how a solution to a language problem can end up having a huge influence on math

[@thejoker8209]

I wished the spinach could say that Arabic word (sh) because of that happend we wouldn't be suffering because of them😂💔

[@DudeRandom]

That build-up was brilliant

[@moharramkhalil2408]

Great video, thank you sir.

[@wushish]

I've sworn off TED videos until my exam was over but this was just too intriguing haha

[@xSeattler]

Very Interesting. It's Amazing what information you come across when you find the roots of words

[@lyaly000]

He didn't mention why Y is also used to be the symbol for unknown. The reason is because the word Shy = شيء contains the letter Y at the end so it was common to use X ans Y as symbols for unknown.

[@user-tm7mr9je9v]

AFTER X, YOU CAN USE ANY ALPHABETS AS UNKNOWN. IF YOU HAVE 2 KIND OF UNKNOWN, YOU CAN'T USE X AND X, THEN THEY USED X AND Y, OR X AND Z ETC.

[@hadifmohamed690]

Love my language

[@kpacuBua]

'when you are around i wont show up' - music to my ears :)

[@EllaABo]

This was very interesting. I learned something new today!

[@PsychoMissie]

Wow, I am Egyptian and I've learned all my life in English, but never knew the origin of the "x" symbol but now ! =)

[@MilosevBranko]

How could I live without this information?!

[@classic5005]

I like it when those Romans applause saying: Yeah 3:46

[@phenix073]

Vignesh Balaji, that's what Mr Terry Moore has explained: chi is a deformation of the arabic word "شيء" (which means "something") which is pronounced "chay'a" in arabic and deformed to "chi" for an easy pronunciation by spanish, so that's why they chose the grec letter "chi"

[@vintage1351]

That was the weirdest TED talk ever (or at least that I've seen so far)... And that was definitely worth Sharing.

[@rowes717]

very nice!! simple questions very often have hard answers! My first language is Arabic and I didn't thought that this the reason behind using 'x' as the unknown is the word "شيئ" which means 'something" in english. I thought the reason behind that is we use a letter in Arabic that similar to 'x' in english alphabet which is the letter "س". In middle school, we always used "س" as the unknown. I think the use of the letter "س" Arabic mathematics came from 17th century english math. I'm not sure.

[@MarHam1987]

Great Video !! thanx 4 sharing

[@sparkybluefox]

This was great fun! Bravo!

[@Biology_lady]

great! I loved this information

[@michealking61]

Ha ha ha ha love this honest to god it really sounded like he was going to say "You can't say sh** in Spanish" lollllllll

[@ManuVyas-social]

this is fascinating. and that ending was so funny :-D

[@perecabrils]

Most of these translations were made in a monastery in Ripoll. Monks from Ripoll used to spoke many languages, but their common language was Catalan, not Spanish. In Catalan we pronounce the letter X exactly as SH is pronouced in English.

[@maravillas7050]

As in Galicia, Asturias & The País Vasco..

[@tahaalaswad1791]

i realized that when I knew Xavi de BFC :)

[@NormallyImKim]

Really funny. Never expected this to come my way...

[@malkum71]

شكرا جزيلا

[@manaspathak6452]

Lovely lecture

[@tylerbrown2053]

I barely understood that and still watched the whole thing. Sweet.

[@yousefal-sabah9682]

Terry Moore - You are brilliant

[@sawsannh]

very neat, organized and interesting reasoning !!

[@The420DeLiRiUm]

I'm fluent in Arabic! But I grew up mostly in Kansas. This is awesome!

[@EngAhmedGoGo]

this was before we used the equations س+ص = ع . the old algebra was mostly done by long terms like شيئ + 3 = 7. you can also see that in the old algebra it was mostly definitions

[@Dude902]

I like the tl;dr version of the talk he gives at the end.

[@ocdraridrogonel]

This was really beautiful...

[@mrx993]

good stuff, thanks for sharing

[@Ray-ug1yr]

His hair is dope . Love it

[@Restonboi]

A GREAT GREAT GREAT clip!!! Love it ...

[@SezSays]

Great little video.

[@surendersingal2192]

Thank you

[@elencitlalicortes1980]

Nunca pense que la letra "x" aya surgido asi ,es sorprenderte saber su significado

[@amaalb1]

Amazing!

[@BANAZIZ]

you are right my brother , as un arabic woman who lived in west for several years, I hope that too.

[@PhilipeMota]

What I am suggesting is that that very same degree you mentioned is a compilation of accomplishments of past individuals. That in their turn would build on top of others. But I do see your point. Pride is not the best suitable feeling towards our cultural ancestors. Perhaps admiration and inspiration would be more fit. Even so the feeling of admiration for the deeds of the group one considers oneself to be part is perfectly compatible with one of the meanings of Pride. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[@JackMayerz]

Great talk.

[@bgangioni]

Curiously the sound "sh" later made it into Spanish, at least in some parts of Argentina, Uruguay ("y", "ll") and Mexico ("ch").

[@Vitorpaulo3]

Very interesting and funny!

[@dannisjc]

Yes, I've always wondered about that!

[@Zmonster2014]

lmfao i love the ending

[@DinoWinoSaur]

great talk

[@tohopes]

Spanish letter "x" was also used to transcribe "sh" sounds in native Mexican words.

[@txvoltaire]

The older form of Spanish used the letter X to spell the sh sound (as is still done in the Portuguese and Catalan languages). This is why Spanish-America is peppered with place names spelled with X (such as Xochimilco). The letter X eventually began to be pronounced as either J or S (and often respelled to reflect that fact). That is why, for instance, in Spanish the names Javier and Xavier are both seen to this day, while only the form with the X is used in Portuguese and Catalan.

[@aliQ7r]

Oh so thats how خ is written in latin

[@kls9730]

Xochimilco is an Aztec word. It predates European colonization by quite a bit.

[@ramybadawy1676]

Like xavi, barcelona football player

[@daobagua]

I couldn't agree more. Thankfully, with the advances of globalization and global communication, I feel that these differences will be a thing of the past (give it a generation or 2). Best wishes.

[@GreatG0dOm]

X also marks the spot to dig for treasure. -- Very interesting talk.

[@iiAhamd]

i really don't know who would dislike this kind of information :?

[@duazaitoun]

Fantastic

[@muitranvan0692]

so helpfull thank you

[@nicolehoang6013]

the answer to the question is much more interesting than expected.

[@mohamedashraf4516]

i like his way :) respect !

[@TheGerogero]

Reading the title I facepalmed. Turned out to be fascinating!

[@AhmedEssamFakharany]

proud to be an Arabian, proud to be a son to my ancestors

[@yogendrasinh]

What happened nowadays to this great rich culture?

[@AhmedEssamFakharany]

Well its a big meesed up story, it involves terrany, injustice and ignoring education :(

[@coolro3684]

+Ahmed Essam El Fakharany actually there countless scientists in the USA who are Arabs.

[@majeedaljasari30]

coolro Arabs was teaching your dear US scientists

[@Alan.Walker29]

يا عم اتنيل بئا بلا قرف فخور ايه بس .. ان الله لا يحب كل مختال فخور

[@raydredX]

Not world changing but a it's pretty curious question answered. I like it.

[@yourluckystar94]

Haha! Loved it!

[@resht_3lmart108]

The eloquence of difficult language produced equations

[@Ideasquevalelapenadifundir]

How can i download the subs from the site?? anyone knows?

[@HiAdrian]

Witty closing remark :)

[@joebazooks]

Very, very interesting.

[@drditup]

lovely!

[@homad89]

as a replay to yours !

[@Kishgofu]

cheers for the synopsis.

[@alimohammed7816]

شكرا تيرى مور على العلم النافع

[@Rabiedif]

الفضل للعلماء المسلمين في تقدم العلوم

[@BigBoss-cc2mh]

ناصر ابن حاتم ماتسواهم ولا تجي قريب من مقامهم

[@reemr.a.m2498]

Yousif Adnan الا مسلمين ولأنهم طبقوا دينهم وصلوا لما كانوا عليه الاسلام يأمر بالمعرفه والتعلم

[@redouanehemi9693]

@@googleuser4203 great answer bro

[@rayane--21pilots8]

نعم

[@leen8770]

@@googleuser4203 تعلم عن الإسلام أولا قبل أن تأتي و تتهمنا. لعلمك قبل الإسلام كانوا العرب عائشين وقتها في الجاهلية إن دين الإسلام هو من علّم و نصر الأمة.

[@shammaalali6889]

It’s so worth saying! 🤣😍

[@AlienSkaterO]

I love it when the western world acknowledges arabs and their accomplishments :') makes me proud to be an arab . I know nowadays we aren't as productive as before , but i really do hope the arab kindgom becomes what it once was ...

[@shammaalali6889]

“What it once was” is unknown to most people especially the Europeans. Many believe the lie that we are people from the desert that had to contribution of any kind in any field. So not true!

[@kholoudelfeqqy3073]

THANK YOU

[@daralaujam]

Yes you are right, thank you so much. شيء =X

[@kellystone84]

As soon as numbers became letters I was done with math

[@connorskudlarek3119]

The letter is just a symbol to say "I don't know what this number is right now". You can do all the same math with it as you did numbers, because it is a number itself that you simply don't know yet.

[@Elein967]

Haha me too xD

[@suleimanjj9289]

Kelly Stone i swear I'm like u 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@abdelazizmetali1938]

Connor Skudlarek no we know what is the x its just a variation betwin numbers

[@hamza-trabelsi]

same here xD

[@vigneshbalaji21]

why did they choose the letter chi from arabic why not any other letter to replace the arabic sound is there any reason for it?

[@LAnonHubbard]

You make some very good points. Being proud just because you're here is silly.

[@bluegreen2077]

Thank you master to share that I love you

[@mm141065]

I am always asked this question but still no answer until this time

[@amiraboussaada4126]

so proud of my culture and ancestors !

[@TacoJim05]

Algebra's first modern ideas showed up in Baghdad in 820 AD, Descartes is from around the 1500's. Terry Moore explains how the translation happened.

[@fatimafal866]

That is possible too I road some parts of that book , In eather ways , the main source of X as an unknown is "Shay" :) Thank for the new information

[@ChristopherJManess]

Great tidbit.

[@DoberFrann]

Funny thing. I met once this spanish guy on the train that couldn't say Shadwell and was saying Chadwell instead (which are two different location in London).

[@janitabonn]

we CAN say SH in spanish: in Argentina we replace the Y or the LL for the sound of the Y. It is just in a region of the country

[@amymcavoy2535]

how did i arrive here? i just came on youtube to watch a music video and now wow

[@pourdamghani]

very very nice ...

[@caitlinirelan5641]

We watched this in math today and I had to show my sister since she's takin Spanish. Haha

[@octavoch]

so how do you say the name of this towns/people Xonocuautla, Xochimilco, and Xicotencatl?

[@amulaaljohani6849]

I just love it =)

[@bouzianebeldjilali3442]

Hi Admin , can I translate this TED to Arabic and share it in my channel ,with adding the source

[@AlienSkaterO]

.... Okay . Awesome . Well done .