In the late 1550s, John Napier was born to Sir Archibald Napier and Janet Bothwell at Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh, Scotland. When John grew up in Merchiston Castle, he was in the constant presence of the royal family, as both his parents were part of the royal family. His father was Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle and his mother was Janet Bothwell, daughter of a very influential politician and judge named Francis Bothwell, Lord of Session. Janet Bothwell was also the sister of Adam Bothwell, who later became Bishop of Orkney. So, surrounded by this vast sea of ​​nobility, John Napier did not begin his studies until he was thirteen, which was customary in this period at the time. However, John did not stay in school very long after he turned thirteen. He is said to have dropped out of school and started traveling abroad to further his education. We don't know what really happened during this period, who he may have studied with, what he may have studied, or where he may have studied. All we know is that in December 1560 John Napier's uncle, Adam Bothwell, sent a letter to Sir Archibald Napier. The well-known letter reads as follows: "I beg you, sir, to send John to school in France or Flanders, as he cannot learn anything good at home." This letter is thought to be the reason why John dropped out of school and studied abroad, and why there isn't much to tell us about John's experiences during this time. Although John Napier fell off the historical map for a while, he re-emerged in Scotland in 1571 at the age of 21. A few years later, in 1574, John purchased a castle in Gartness, Scotland. However, upon the death of his father, John and his family move to... middle of paper... rm, there are two basic parts, there is the base and the exponent. The base is the number you will multiply by, and the exponent will tell you how many times to multiply it. In the case of the example on the right, the base is eight and the exponent is two. This means that we will multiply eight by itself twice (8*8 = 82). Works CitedExponent. (2013, June 12). Math is fun. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/exponent.htmlJOC/EFR. (1998). John Napier. Napier Summary. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Napier.htmlJohn Napier. (2002, December 23). John Napier. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.johnnapier.com/O'Connor, J., & Robertson, E. (1998). John Napier. Napier Biography. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Napier.html