Why didn't the Romans contribute much to mathematics?
&gt; &quot;There was once a workman who made a glass cup that was unbreakable. So he was given an audience of the Emperor with his invention; he made Caesar give it back to him and then threw it on the floor. Caesar was as frightened as could be. But the man picked up his cup from the ground: it was dented like a bronze bowl; then he took a little hammer out of his pocket and made the cup quite sound again without any trouble. After doing this he thought he had himself seated on the throne of Jupiter, especially when Caesar said to him: &#x27;Does anyone else know how to blow glass like this?&#x27; Just see what happened. He said not, and then Caesar had him beheaded. Why? Because if his invention were generally known we should treat gold like dirt. &quot; (Satyricon 51)<p>This apocryphal story on economic incentives vs progressive incentives is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.