I suspect "tool for thought" may go back to at least Aristotle's Organon.
Note that roman numerals were never used for calculation, only for recording results. Romans calculated with counting boards, using calculi (pebbles) in representations not so far removed from our arabic numerals.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 11.5 ms ] threadNote that roman numerals were never used for calculation, only for recording results. Romans calculated with counting boards, using calculi (pebbles) in representations not so far removed from our arabic numerals.