Augustus De Morgan claimed the work was written by Hawkins, who merely used Cocker's name to lend the authority of his reputation to the book.
[2] Ruth Wallis, in 1997, wrote an article in Annals of Science, claiming De Morgan's analysis was flawed and Cocker was the real author.
[4] Such noted figures of history as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Simpson are documented as having used the book.
[5][6] Over 100 years after its publication, Samuel Johnson carried a copy of Arithmetick on his tour of Scotland, and mentions it in his letters: Though popular, like most texts of its time, Arithmetick style is formal, stiff and difficult to follow as illustrated in its explanation of the "rule of three".
Following the common practice of textbooks at the time, each rule is illustrated with numerous examples of commercial transactions involving the exchange of wheat, rye and other seeds; calculation of costs for the erection of houses and other structures; and the rotation of gears on a shaft.