Re: Cultures "discovering" math - USE IT OR LOSE IT!

On Aug 15, 1:21 pm, "mensana...@xxxxxxxxxxx" <mensana...@xxxxxxx>
wrote:

Maybe this actually helps promote the knowledge. Maybe those aspects
that disgust other cultures are what made Western Civilization so
successful.

I think you misunderstood.me. Revisionism and priority fights are
what disgust me. I think you interpreted "disgust" as when a
mathematician, scientist, or merchant perceives a mathematical and/or
physical challenge or problem to overcome which then advances Western
Civilization. That's not what I meant.

Newton's priority fight with Leibniz may have overall hampered
calculus and its further development for a time, due to the acrimony
of their supporters. It certainly delayed the adoption of Leibniz'
arguably better calculus notation in England.

And Gauss, out of pride and smugness, was disrespecting Janos Bolyai
by Gauss claiming to have worked out non-Euclidean geometry, I don't
see how Gauss' claiming priority advanced anything.

Now, non-Western cultures should be proud of their discoveries. But
when some people try to rewrite the history books and suggest the West
stole their ideas (such as the suggestion that Newton got his ideas
from India through the Jesuits), something more than pride is going on
- it's an act of desperation to uplift a culture by downgrading
another culture, such as Western Civilzation.

Okay, Western Civilization is not the ONLY civilization, and it
occasionally stole some ideas. But I don't see how revisionism and
trying to promote one culture advances either that culture or Western
Civilization, or even promotes further progress.

The most such actions do is promote more money for historians to
uncover evidence in such math-culture priority fights. It doesn't
promote mathematics itself.

Although, I suppose, such historical arguments may be propaganda which
could be used to spur more success by a civilization/culture.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cultures "discovering" math - USE IT OR LOSE IT!
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