[dkislyuk]

Yes, but such a property was not available to Napier, and from a teaching perspective, it requires understanding exponentials and their characterizations first. Starting from the original problem of how to simplify large multiplications seems like a more grounded way to introduce the concept.

[kccqzy]

From a teaching perspective it goes like this: first we learn additions, and to undo additions we have subtractions; then we learn repeated additions i.e. multiplications, and to undo multiplications we have divisions; finally we learn repeated multiplications, i.e. exponentiation, and to undo exponentiation we have logarithms and roots.

[BobaFloutist]

You see how one of those isn't like the others?