https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00473-2
Origin of the powerful calculation tool traced back to a mathematician from the Italian Renaissance.

 

So why was the decimal point changed to the decimal comma, in parts of Europe?

 

So why was the decimal point changed to the decimal comma, in parts of Europe?

Good question, damn confusing at times. I blame the French (the source of 99% of the world problems) because that's where I saw it first.

From Wiki:
In France, the full stop was already in use in printing to make Roman numerals more readable, so the comma was chosen.

Yes, we screwed up metric system usage here but we got the point right. The decimal point of freedom.

 

So why was the decimal point changed to the decimal comma, in parts of Europe?

IIRC, the use of the period (full stop) came as a way to approximate the decimal point, which was a point at mid-height between the whole and fractional parts. I don't recall whether this evolved as type-set print started being used, or to deconflict with the mid-height dot indicating multiplication.

But I don't know about this claim that the decimal point was invented during the Renaissance -- my understanding is that it's roots trace back to about a couple thousand years BC in the Indus Valley. Perhaps that isn't being considered because it requires too much speculation, as opposed to things like log and astronomical tables, where it's use is indisputable.