Topic: Compare and contrast the contributions in science and math of ancient Greece, India, and China. Whose discoveries had more influence on us today?
Ancient Greece, China, and India all had major contributions in the fields of science and math. All three of those ancient civilizations made such great contributions that they are still used today by many people. We use these contributions in school, work, and in our general every day lives. Although we don’t use the exact inventions that they created, we now use alterations of them every day. Greece’s discoveries have more of an influence on us today than those of India and China because we use these discoveries more often in the field of astronomy, theoretical sciences, important technology, and everyday mathematics.
Astronomy is a very important field in science. Ancient Greece, China, and India all contributed to our everyday ideas and uses of astronomy. Ancient Greece was the most influential because the Indian’s based most of their astronomy off of Greece. The Greeks created calendars that were based off of the eclipse cycle, which they called by two different names, Hellenic Calendars and Lunisolar Calendars. Because of Ancient Greece, we now have calendars to keep us on track every day. The Greeks observed a celestial object passing through the eastern and western morning sky. After a long time of observations, they came to a realization that it was a planet and now that is the planet is well known as Venus. (Sarton, 75) Plato and Aristotle’s theories were incredible contributions on us today. Both of their theories were all about the behavior and life of the planets, such as their theory that the earth is spherical. (Sarton, 421). Ancient Greece als...
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...G. The Genius of China. London: Andre Deutsch, 2007. Print.
This source gave incredible information about Ancient China. It gave many details and facts about ancient astronomy, technology, medicine, and mathematics in Ancient China. It gave information on many inventions and medical values of Ancient China. It also gave great details about mathematics in Ancient China.
"The Foundations of Geometry: From Thales to Euclid." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Power Search. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
This source provided a lot of background information on Euclid and his discoveries. This source gave details about the many geometrical theories of Euclid, as well as his practical geometrical uses. This source also explained how geometry helped Greece a long time ago, and how it is used by many people everyday.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Hesiod, writing in the 8th century BC, used celestial bodies to indicate agricultural cycles: "When the Pleiads, Atlas' daughters, start to rise, begin your harvest; plough when they go down" (Hesiod 71). Later Greek scientists, such as Archimedes, developed complicated models of the heavens-celestial spheres-that illustrated the "wandering" of the sun, the moon, and the planets against the fixed position of the stars. Shortly after Archimedes, Ctesibus created the Clepsydra in the 2nd century BC. A more elaborate version of the common water clock, the Clepsydra was quite popular in ancient Greece. However, the development of stereography by Hipparchos in 150 BC.
Clarke, Leonard W.‘Greek Astronomy and Its Debt to the Babylonians' The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 1, No. (Cambridge University Press. 1962)
Geometry, a cornerstone in modern civilization, also had its beginnings in Ancient Greece. Euclid, a mathematician, formed many geometric proofs and theories [Document 5]. He also came to one of the most significant discoveries of math, Pi. This number showed the ratio between the diameter and circumference of a circle.
...should examine their life and be able to question the world also, give people freedom. On the other hand is Aristotle, he showed the Political Theory in human that human reason and resources are their guides and yet, it is others life style. Furthermore, Plato, he used the Allegory of the Cave to show how Philosopher see the Absolute Truth and due to the fact how people perceive the truth and how people view of reality can be bound. Also, the Greeks contribution in Art, they used the Discuss Thrower, the Greeks Columns, and The Parthenon to show people how Greeks are good in sculpturing and to show the 3D-dimensional perspective. Lastly, is Democracy where people are the ruler also the Council of 500 of Cleisthenes because of this our civilization today has a direct democracy, without further do, Democracy, Art, and Philosophy has influenced our society astonishingly.
The authors pay particular attention to the philosophical presence of debate and the democratic political system of Hellenistic Greece to explain the inherent competitiveness of Greek science. Indeed, in the “Why Elements, Why Nature” section of the text, Lloyd and Sivin surmise that the reason why Greeks studied the world around them was because of “certain features of Greek intellectual life, notably its fierce competitiveness, influenced the focus on [the questions of nature, elements and reality.] The ongoing disagreement on the questions in turn helped to stoke that competitiveness” (157.) The “features of Greek life” they are referring to is the inherent, even encouraged rivalry between many schools of thought, a questioning of the accepted truths of ancient texts, and finally the deep importance of debating within the scientific and
Ancient India, China, and Greece all contributed to math and science, however, the Greek achievements influenced us the most. They invented Pythagorean Theorem, calculated the value of pi, discovered atoms, accurately found the size of the Earth, and had much more accomplishments than India or China. Although the Greeks influenced modern math and science the most, the achievements of all three civilizations affect us today. These achievements range from the discovery of atoms, to the invention of a primitive computer. They contribute to modern math and science, architecture, the medical world, technology, and the economy. The achievements and contributions of ancient India, China, and Greece continue to amaze and influence us today.
Modern day scientists, engineers and technologists adapted and evolved the basic principals that the Greek created, and they have been inspired by Greek gods and goddess to reach for the stars and to the ends of the earth. Despite the fact that the ancient Greek lived from 500 BC to 400 BC, companies like NASA, JPL, and Aurora have been naming their innovations and inventions after the ancient Greek deities, philosophers and creatures for a long time. Along with the inspiration the Greek provided, they have a physical connection to the modern world. Machines, like the clock, and technologies, like calculus and fluid dynamics are just some of the achievements of the Greek.
Though different in many ways imaginable both civilizations art and history has survived and left a significant mark in the history of time. Both Ancient civilization were remarkable in their devotion to their religion, the influential contributions to neighboring regions, and the mark they left in art, architecture, and science. Although different in many aspects, the greatest similarities shared by both civilization is that they reigned and lasted longer than other civilizations.
Long before the time of Thales, a citizen of Miletus, in the district of Ionia on the west coast of Asia Minor, Chaldaen astrologers had listed data on the position of the stars and planets. As Thales studied these tables he thought he discerned a pattern or regularity in the occurrence of eclipses, and he ventured to predict a solar eclipse that occurred on May 28th 585BC. Some scholars think that this was just a lucky empirical guess, but if it was the discovery of an astronomical regularity or natural law, then Thales may be credited with distinguishing Greek philosophy and science from the somewhat aimless observations and disjointed information of the Eastern wise men. When a law is formulated, Man's wonder at the phenomenon is supposed to be satisfied, and nature is said to be explained and understood. Thales is also credited with the discovery of several theorems of geometry and with diplomatic, engineering, and economic exploits. If there is a difference between science and philosophy, it is that the regularities of science are relatively restricted, whereas the more general principles, called 'philosophic' apply to wider areas. Thales's more general speculations concerned the constitution of the universe. What is the world made of? Are there many elements or is there but one? And if one, what is it? These questions dominated the entire Pre-Socratic period; and they are still live issues today; and if Thales's answer seems crude to a so-called sophisticated 21st century mind, his motivation and procedure may prove as profound as any contemporary inspiration.
Euclid is one of the most influential and best read mathematician of all time. His prize work, Elements, was the textbook of elementary geometry and logic up to the early twentieth century. For his work in the field, he is known as the father of geometry and is considered one of the great Greek mathematicians. Very little is known about the life of Euclid. Both the dates and places of his birth and death are unknown. It is believed that he was educated at Plato's academy in Athens and stayed there until he was invited by Ptolemy I to teach at his newly founded university in Alexandria. There, Euclid founded the school of mathematics and remained there for the rest of his life. As a teacher, he was probably one of the mentors to Archimedes. Personally, all accounts of Euclid describe him as a kind, fair, patient man who quickly helped and praised the works of others. However, this did not stop him from engaging in sarcasm. One story relates that one of his students complained that he had no use for any of the mathematics he was learning. Euclid quickly called to his slave to give the boy a coin because "he must make gain out of what he learns." Another story relates that Ptolemy asked the mathematician if there was some easier way to learn geometry than by learning all the theorems. Euclid replied, "There is no royal road to geometry" and sent the king to study. Euclid's fame comes from his writings, especially his masterpiece Elements. This 13 volume work is a compilation of Greek mathematics and geometry. It is unknown how much if any of the work included in Elements is Euclid's original work; many of the theorems found can be traced to previous thinkers including Euxodus, Thales, Hippocrates and Pythagoras. However, the format of Elements belongs to him alone. Each volume lists a number of definitions and postulates followed by theorems, which are followed by proofs using those definitions and postulates. Every statement was proven, no matter how obvious. Euclid chose his postulates carefully, picking only the most basic and self-evident propositions as the basis of his work. Before, rival schools each had a different set of postulates, some of which were very questionable. This format helped standardize Greek mathematics. As for the subject matter, it ran the gamut of ancient thought. The
The Hellenistic Era boomed with new discoveries, kingdoms and war. Greek was the language mostly spoken in the Hellenistic world. This was established once the Greeks took over and made it more predominant. During this time, more people were becoming scholarly. There were schools for students to attend where new discoveries were made. Some of these discoveries included science, math and different inventions. Aristarchus discovered just how large our universe was by studying the stars and the earth's atmosphere. Besides discovering the universe mathematics such as trigonometry were originated by Hipparchus during this time.
The reality that we can model and change our current world based off of the civilizations before us offers us a greater advantage than realized. The ability to make important decisions that allow us to grow and build from the mistakes of others have made is phenomenal. This gives us the capability to continue forward in our journey toward equality and obtain contentment and happiness in life. There are several areas in life than can always be enhanced upon, yet the enhancements made by our Greek contributors have virtually stayed the same. There are instances where some people just get it right the first time and how enjoyable this must be, especially if it’s related to the aspects that surround us each day. Imagine how our architecture, literature, and our political systems would be without these contributions. How different would our world be as we know it? While only speculation can answer this question is it certain that it would not be the same as we know it today. It is time to give credit where credit is due. The classical Greek contributions to American society are some of the best contributions that man has to
Euclid, otherwise known as “The Father of Geometry”, is who I shall be talking about in this paper. Place of birth? Place of death? Living conditions; child life, family backgrounds, etc? Educational background? What are his most significant contributions to the mathematical field? What is the relevance of those contributions to mathematics today? One interesting fact? Additional biographical information? Destiny Kirby is the only participant that’s writing this paper. My methods include; mostly online research and if I must, I will go to the library and check out a book about this mister Euclid. My results from researching will hopefully be useful information that I can use to complete
The history of math has become an important study, from ancient to modern times it has been fundamental to advances in science, engineering, and philosophy. Mathematics started with counting. In Babylonia mathematics developed from 2000B.C. A place value notation system had evolved over a lengthy time with a number base of 60. Number problems were studied from at least 1700B.C. Systems of linear equations were studied in the context of solving number problems.