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old money Economic thought is at least as old as money itself. The earliest coins were made from precious metals such as gold and silver. They are believed to have first appeared around the 6th century BC in what is now Turkey, but were soon in use around the civilized world, from Mesopotamia to Persia to India to China. ( / . . ::_ I, ~ , I/ \ I I \ However, because economics has long modelled itself after sciences like physics, it has been shaped most of all by the Western scientific tradition, which itself is rooted in the ideas of Greek philosophers. We therefore begin our story 2,500 years ago, in a cave in ancient Greece ... Page 4 . .. , ~\~~-~ '~ /I ( I 1" ' ~,, ·, ~"" ) ,,. '
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Pythagoras The philosopher Pythagoras ( c. 570-c. 495 BC) is today associated mostly with mathematics, and his famous theorem about right-angled triangles that we all learn at school. But he has had a lasting influence on science in general, including economics. Pythagoras was considered a demi-god by the Greeks. His birth was predicted by the oracle at Delphi, and it was rumoured that his father was the god Apollo. As a young man, I travelled the world, learning from mystics and philosophers. On my return, ~:::;:;:;;~=:::::::=~ I set up school in a ~ cave, teaching mathematics. His school grew into what amounts to a pseudo-religious cult, based on the worship of number. The Pythagoreans were highly secretive and left no written documents, so we only know about them indirectly. Page 5

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old money

Economic thought is at least as old as money itself.

The earliest coins were made from precious metals such as gold and silver. They are believed to have first appeared around the 6th century BC in what is now Turkey, but were soon in use around the civilized world, from Mesopotamia to Persia to India to China.

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/ . . ::_

I, ~

, I/ \ I

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However, because economics has long modelled itself after sciences like physics, it has been shaped most of all by the Western scientific tradition,

which itself is rooted in the ideas of Greek philosophers.

We therefore begin our story 2,500 years ago, in a cave in ancient Greece ...

Page 4

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~,, ·,

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