Live data from Hacker News

Al-Jazari

en.wikipedia.org

31–40 of 127 posts

Re: Al-Jazari

#31
post #28
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once we replace "Islamic contribution" with "Arab contribution", we will move forward.

That is not true. Can you give me the name of a scientist before Islam?

Any of the ones living in pre-islamic Egypt/Babylon/Sumeria/Persia? Unless you don't believe the Egyptians/Babylonians/Sumerians/Persians were scientists and their innovations required no science or mathematics.

Re: Al-Jazari

#32
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not true. Can you give me the name of a scientist before Islam?

You know what, it is. Also, Mohammad was a misogynist pedophile warlord. Ideas from medieval ages have no place in the 21st century. (Down-votes from PC folks welcome)

I'm pretty sure we still find plenty of use in the ideas much older than that... Do we not still teach the ideas of Pythagoras et al?

I'm pretty sure what you're trying to say is religion has no place in the 21st century.

Also fun fact, the early days of Islam saw huge steps forward for women's rights, more so than pretty much any other culture at the time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_feminism#Early_reforms_...). I'm curious why you Mohammed was a misogynist and what that has to do with Islam?

Re: Al-Jazari

#33
post #27
post #8

I remember learning all about Al Jazari (and all of the other Muslim scientists, philosophers and doctors at that time) back in primary school. As an Arab I can't help but feel both proud, of such achievements, and yet so sad, because of the state of decline the Islamic contribution to the scientific advancement has known.

I was reading Why Nations Fail , recently, and came across a similar sentiment: > While the Egyptians were building the great pyramids of Giza around 2500 BC, the English constructed their most famous ancient monument, the stone circle at Stonehenge. Not bad by English standards, but not even large enough to have housed one of the ceremonial boats buried at the foot of King Khufu’s pyramid. England continued to lag b…

You can only connect the dots looking backward. How do we know that our society won't be viewed 500 years from now the same way we view the Roman empire or Egyptian kingdom?

Re: Al-Jazari

#34
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not true. Can you give me the name of a scientist before Islam?

You know what, it is. Also, Mohammad was a misogynist pedophile warlord. Ideas from medieval ages have no place in the 21st century. (Down-votes from PC folks welcome)

What a hateful comment. How can one judge a man who lived in the 7th century by today's standards?! Objectively speaking, a warlord he might have been but a misogynist and a pedophile surely he wasn't.

Re: Al-Jazari

#35
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not true. Can you give me the name of a scientist before Islam?

Any of the ones living in pre-islamic Egypt/Babylon/Sumeria/Persia? Unless you don't believe the Egyptians/Babylonians/Sumerians/Persians were scientists and their innovations required no science or mathematics.

They weren't Arabs...

Re: Al-Jazari

#36
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not true. Can you give me the name of a scientist before Islam?

You know what, it is. Also, Mohammad was a misogynist pedophile warlord. Ideas from medieval ages have no place in the 21st century. (Down-votes from PC folks welcome)

"Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downmod you."

"Please avoid introducing classic flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say about them."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

(Interesting that your only other comment on this profile was a suggestion to someone else to read the guidelines.)

Re: Al-Jazari

#37
Another interesting Arab from that general period is Ahmad al-Tifashi [1]. He was a poet, writer, and anthologist, mainly known for his anthology "Promenade of the Hearts" of poetry, jokes, and anecdotes of an erotic nature or about sexual practices.

An English translation of the gay chapters is available: "The Delight of Hearts: Or What You Will Not Find in Any Book" [2]. I've got it, and it is an amusing, entertaining, and eye-opening read.

For a very very long time, I've had a little puzzle on my website. Someone is caught with the following items:

   1. A large needle and thread
   2. A roll of paper
   3. Three small pebbles
   4. A small bag of fine-grained dust
   5. A small empty waterskin
   6. A pair of scissors
   7. A canteen full of cream
   8. A fur cap
   9. A purse full of counterfeit coins
   10. A raw egg
What are they planning?

For the first time, I will give a hint: the answer is in "The Delight of Hearts".

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_al-Tifashi

[2] http://www.amazon.com/The-Delight-Hearts-What-Will/dp/094056...

Re: Al-Jazari

#38
Isis approves of this pro islamic link. Hacker news no longer a place for programmers, its a place for politics.

Religion of peace is the best, we should allow sharia law controlled jurisdictions effective immediately. Now is the time to usher in the Islamic golden age.

Re: Al-Jazari

#39
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any of the ones living in pre-islamic Egypt/Babylon/Sumeria/Persia? Unless you don't believe the Egyptians/Babylonians/Sumerians/Persians were scientists and their innovations required no science or mathematics.

They weren't Arabs...

Arab can be a very generic and overly used term in many conversations. Please define who you think are Arabs.

Also the link this whole thread is about on wikipedia is about a Scientist from Turkey, not Arabia.

> "Badi'al-Zaman Abū al-'Izz ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206) (Arabic: بديع الزمان أَبُو اَلْعِزِ بْنُ إسْماعِيلِ بْنُ الرِّزاز الجزري‎) was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist, and mathematician from Jazirat ibn Umar (current Cizre, Turkey), who lived during the Islamic Golden Age (Middle Ages)."

Re: Al-Jazari

#40
Can anyone recommend books on the cross-cultural history of mathematics? I've found these:

1) Georges Ifrah, "Universal History of Numbers", http://www.amazon.com/Universal-History-Numbers-Prehistory-I...

"the first complete account of the invention and evolution of numbers the world over ... Dubbed the "Indiana Jones of numbers," Georges Ifrah traveled all over the world for ten years to uncover the little-known details of this amazing story. From India to China, and from Egypt to Chile, Ifrah talked to mathematicians, historians, archaeologists, and philosophers."

2) Paul Calter, "Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art & Architecture", http://www.amazon.com/Squaring-Circle-Geometry-Art-Architect...

"the combination of the subject knowledge of design, architecture, art, geometry, philospohy, music theory, and mathematics ... Calter includes the basic lessons and explanations of a regular Geometry course in his book, but then he interweaves an integrated classical curriculum (based on deductive reasoning)"

Post reply on HN