Byte order (retitled)

[Michal Jaegermann]

>>I think the Arabs knew what they were doing; they set the
>>notation so that the natural computational order followed the
>>conventional lexical order.  The European merchants missed the point
>>and copied the notation verbatum instead of compensating for the
>>opposite lexical convention.

We have right now A. D. MCMLIIIVI.  Somehow Romans scanned numbers also
in a "wrong" order. :-)  At least if you are writing from left-to-right.

Michal Jaegermann
Myrias Research Corporation
Edmonton, Alberta
...ihnp4!alberta!myrias!mj