Comments on Shining History :Medieval Islamic Civilization: Determination of the Earth's Circumference through...

Quite true. The question now arises whether necess...

2009-11-08T07:47:48.102-08:00

Quite true. The question now arises whether necessity is the mother of invention or is it the curiosity/desire for new things.......

Like others, I'm fascinated by the desire and ...

2009-11-04T05:37:58.301-08:00

Like others, I'm fascinated by the desire and curiosity that drives people to make these kind of discoveries. It seems that everything new in the world derives from an obsession.

As mentioned in this post, the ancients Greeks and...

2009-11-01T10:56:00.012-08:00

As mentioned in this post, the ancients Greeks and Indians did determine the circumference of earth. However, al-biruni's contribution is using trignometry, for the first time, to determine radius of the earth that did not require the ancient method of sighting of the sun from multiple directions. With regards to mathematics, ancient civilizations as well as the medieval Islamic civilization, each made their own great achievements in this area. More on the contributions in mathematics in subsequent posts. Thanks for your feedback.

Hi Meam it now appears however that the Ancient Eg...

2009-11-01T10:27:06.536-08:00

Hi Meam it now appears however that the Ancient Egyptians and whoever built Stonehenge may also have known the circumference of the Earth.Recent studies by archeoastronomers suggest that the location and precise dimensions of these structures reflect a sophistication in mathematics not believed possible until Pythagoras and Euclid.A fascinating post.simon

Baili, I feel that the absence of love of gaining ...

2009-10-27T03:20:58.523-07:00

Baili, I feel that the absence of love of gaining knowledge is the major reason for the problems that any individual (and in turn the society) faces. Nothing can be worse than citing other factors instead of taking responsibility for whatever problems one faces. I agree that this 'endless lust of material' affects the creativity of human mind. Thank you for sharing your views.

wonderful post, also shows that their was a time w...

2009-10-25T01:07:41.132-07:00

wonderful post, also shows that their was a time when some brilliant brains of Muslims were curious about this universe and spend their lives to solve the puzzles of god,may be they were free of these fears we are facing today fears of unavailability of basic needs and security and may be they they were free of endless lust of material .

@Hicham Maged: I am so delighted to learn the Eng...

2009-10-23T04:28:34.509-07:00

@Hicham Maged: I am so delighted to learn the English translation of the Arabic title of the book as I couldn't find it online. Thank you so much for this very valuable feedback. I'll update the post with the English title.

@timethief: Thank you for stopping by and for your...

2009-10-23T04:24:02.622-07:00

@timethief: Thank you for stopping by and for your positive feedback.

@Frank: Interesting point. Circumference of circle...

2009-10-23T04:22:42.096-07:00

@Frank: Interesting point. Circumference of circle was determined, centuries before al-biruni, by the greek mathematician Archimedes (born in 287 BC).

@butterfly: I feel honored...thank you!

2009-10-23T04:19:12.332-07:00

@butterfly: I feel honored...thank you!

@George Polley: I also found it quite funny :) Tha...

2009-10-23T04:18:21.902-07:00

@George Polley: I also found it quite funny :) Thanks.

Meam, it's very interesting how things ends wh...

2009-10-22T21:32:01.340-07:00

Meam, it's very interesting how things ends when people implement the knowlegde they have. al-Biruni was using the advanced scientific methods that was later implemented by other european scientists.

As for his book "Kitab Tahdid al-Amakin" the title can be transtlated in English as "Book of Determination of the Location" if people want to know it's meaning!

This is such a fascinating blog. Thank you so much...

2009-10-20T13:40:09.051-07:00

This is such a fascinating blog. Thank you so much for undertaking the assemblage, writing and sharing of this knowledge.
timethief

The circumference of the Earth...I wonder if this ...

2009-10-20T06:22:55.627-07:00

The circumference of the Earth...I wonder if this came before the knowledge of the circumference of a circle? Still it's rather interesting how these things come about. It's more of a curiosity of the person designing the formula to complete the calculation. It seems like everything in history that was discovered is all based on someone's curiosity!

I wonder, how's today? If not for the great mi...

2009-10-19T22:49:47.415-07:00

I wonder, how's today? If not for the great minds of these geniuses...
Thanks for sharing this.

BTW, I have a blog award for you, please pick it up!

XO

Another fine, informative post, Meam. And I love t...

2009-10-18T15:48:56.077-07:00

Another fine, informative post, Meam. And I love this quote, showing al-Biruni's sense of humor:

"Here is another method for the determination of the circumference of the earth. It does not require walking in deserts."

It made me chuckle.