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Politics : The Miracle of Islamic Science -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marcos who wrote (6)	1/14/2003 11:01:41 AM
From: DrGrabow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 273

The best source I know of is Morris Kline, Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times (Oxford, 1972; paperback). He reports that zero symbols are found in Alexandrian Greek documents. Bell, The Development of Mathematics, suggests that zero was independently developed by the Hindus, Babylonians and Maya. newton.dep.anl.gov I always thought it was Billy Preston that invented Zero.... ""Nothing from nothing leaves nothing", dude.

To: marcos who wrote (6)	1/14/2003 4:22:38 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 273

Everything I can remembering reading credited the Arabs with inventing algebra. I have always read that Tataglia first gave a general solution to cubic equations, though. Here's one source: Al-Khayyami (usually known as Omar Khayyam) writes Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra which contains a complete classification of cubic equations with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections. Del Ferro discovers a formula to solve cubic equations. Tartaglia solves the cubic equation independently of del Ferro. www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk It may be that Al-Khayyami solved certain specialized forms of the equation, but did not find the general solution. Quartic equations also have a closed-form general solution which is supposed to have been discovered by Europeans during the Renaissance. A claim to have discovered general closed form solutions for algebraic equations above degree 4 is bogus. It can be proven that no such solutions exist. What is Taught: The concept of the finite nature of matter was first introduced by Antione Lavoisier during the 18th century. He discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. Thus, for instance, if water is heated to steam, if salt is dissolved in water or if a piece of wood is burned to ashes, the total mass remains unchanged. What Should be Taught: The principles of this discovery were elaborated centuries before by Islamic Persia's great scholar, al-Biruni (d. 1050). Lavoisier was a disciple of the Muslim chemists and physicists and referred to their books frequently. Democritus, an ancient Greek, is credited with first proposing the atomic theory. Long before 1050. "Discovery"is probasbly an overstatement. al-Biruni probably advanced yet another speculation. It's probably fair to say the theory cannot be regarded as actually proven until early in the 20th century. I don't think there is any dispute that the Arabs were well ahead of the Europeans in science and math until the Renaissance. However, I think our threadhead overstates the case in some instances.