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Why the Arabic world turned away from science (2011)

thenewatlantis.com

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Re: Why the Arabic world turned away from science (2011)

#12

Post by petre »

Do you know where the words algorithm, algebra, arithmetic come from?

"Born into a Persian family in Khuwarizm (present-day Xorazm Province, Uzbekistan), Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (also known by the Latin form of his name, Algoritmi, circa 780–850 AD, 164–236 AH) was a Muslim mathematician, astronomer, and geographer, and a scholar in the famed House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Al-Khwarazmi wrote Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala (The compendious book on calculation by completion and balancing) around 830 AD, with the encouragement of Caliph Al-Maamoun, the reigning Abbasid caliph of Baghdad in 813–33 AD. It is meant to be a useful work, with examples and applications for everyday life, in areas such as trade, legal inheritance, and surveying. The mathematical term algebra is derived from al-jabr, one of the two operations he used to solve quadratic equations. Also, the words algorism, algorithm, and arithmetic stem from Algoritmi. Similarly, his name is the origin of the Spanish term guarismo and of the Portuguese algarismo, both meaning digit."

Re: Why the Arabic world turned away from science (2011)

#13

Post by pjc50 »

> "We will turn to this question later, but it is important to keep in mind that the decline of scientific activity is the rule, not the exception, of civilizations. While it is commonplace to assume that the scientific revolution and the progress of technology were inevitable, in fact the West is the single sustained success story out of many civilizations with periods of scientific flourishing. Like the Muslims, the ancient Chinese and Indian civilizations, both of which were at one time far more advanced than the West, did not produce the scientific revolution."

.. so far, so good. There's always the risk that the West might internally reject the scientific revolution. This paragraph is a useful reminder that historical "progress" isn't linear or monotonic.

This article is very good on the background in the era of the Caliphate and early scientific progress in medieval Europe. Where it falls down is the past century. We can draw comparison with the Meiji restoration; Japan went from insular agrarianism to a world power to collapse to continued scientific development through to the 21st century. As did much of the Far East. Why not the Middle east?

Anyway, excellent longread.

Re: Why the Arabic world turned away from science (2011)

#14

Post by pjc50 »

petre wrote: post #12

Do you know where the words algorithm , algebra , arithmetic come from? "Born into a Persian family in Khuwarizm (present-day Xorazm Province, Uzbekistan), Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (also known by the Latin form of his name, Algoritmi, circa 780–850 AD, 164–236 AH) was a Muslim mathematician, astronomer, and geographer, and a scholar in the famed House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Al-Khwarazmi wrote Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-…

This is actually mentioned in the article.
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