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The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite Arithmetic al calculation using an Algorithm to the vague Heuristics of calculating a strategy in a competition or calculating the chance of a successful relationship between two people. Multiplying 7 by 8 is a simple algorithmic calculation. Estimating the fair price for Financial Instruments using the Black-Scholes model is a complex algorithmic calculation. Statistical Estimation s of the likely election results from opinion polls also involve algorithmic calculations, but give results that are ranges of possibilities rather than exact answers. Deciding the best way to build a relationship with a member of the opposite sex may also result from a calculation, but is not definite, predictable, nor even clearly defined. This indefinite application of the term gives it a second area of meaning apart from the Mathematical senses mentioned above. To ''calculate'' means to ascertain by computing. The English word derives from the Latin ''calculus'', which originally meant a small stone in the gall-bladder (from Latin ''calx''). It also meant a pebble used for calculating, or a small stone used as a counter in an Abacus (Latin ''abacus'', Greek ''abax''). The abacus was an instrument used by Greeks and Romans for arithmetic calculations, preceding the slide-rule and the electronic calculator, and consisted of perforated pebbles sliding on an iron bars. SEE ALSO
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