From: Paul Bullock (paulbullock@EBMS-LTD.CO.UK)
Date: Sun Mar 12 2006 - 12:53:36 EST
Paul, these bits are quite well known over here, (although probably the 3 course meal bit isn't!) Newton knew about Ibn al-Shatir and a copy of his work was placed in Oxford Library at, or before, Newton's time. The Arab universities ( ie Cordoba of Averroes / ie Ibn Rushd, Aviccena and the influential medical man Ibn Zuhr) and their influence ( via Spain) is obviously known pretty much by shool kids in that country and other European states. Educated 15 year olds here generally know that the compass ( so euro exploration, after Ibn al Athir's '12th century History of the World',) classical Greek thought, and lots of medicine came via the Arabs. This general understanding I think affects European thought in an inescapable way that it does not seem to in the US. Neverthless everything worth knowing is worth repeating!. Paul Bullock ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Zarembka" <zarembka@BUFFALO.EDU> To: <OPE-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU> Sent: Saturday, March 11, 2006 1:26 PM Subject: [OPE-L] Muslim influence on the West > For a change of pace, check out today's article from THE INDEPENDENT, "How > Islamic inventors changed the world": > > http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article350594.ece > > For example, "the technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and > Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from > Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children > in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at > least 50 years before the West discovered it." > > Also, "Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of Ziryab (Blackbird) came from > Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th century and brought with him the concept of the > three-course meal - soup, followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts. > He also introduced crystal glasses (which had been invented after > experiments with rock crystal by Abbas ibn Firnas)." > > and, "the modern cheque comes from the Arabic saqq, a written vow to pay > for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be > transported across dangerous terrain. In the 9th century, a Muslim > businessman could cash a cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad." > > See also the link to > > http://www.1001inventions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=309> > For example, "Long before Copernicus > > "Did you know that long before Copernicus astronomer Ibn Al-Shatir in the > 13th century figure out that despite appearances the earth revolved around > the sun. It remains controversial whether Copernicus was directly > influenced by al-Shatir's work. The idea of the movement of the planets is > attributed to Kepler and Copernicus while not crediting the contribution > of Ibn Al-Shatir. The fact is though the maths by Ibn al-Shatir are > identical to those of Copernicus." > > Paul Z. > > ************************************************************************ > THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF 9-11-2001, forthcoming in April 2006 > RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Paul Zarembka, editor, Elsevier Science > ********************* http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka > >
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