Reflection on “The Crest of the Peacock”

 

 

This article reveals the ability of human beings to think mathematically and create inventions. While reading this article, the figure about “the classical Eurocentric trajectory” surprised me that there is no acknowledgement of other countries who contributed to math history. Later in the article, the figure about “An alternative trajectory for the Dark Ages” attracts me how Baghdad served as a meeting place to other countries to collaborate on their researches during dark ages. The diagram about “the spread of mathematical ideas down the ages” represents the interconnection between the countries on the development of math, whether it is confirmed or unconfirmed two way or one-way transmission. It helps me to understand the transmission of knowledge quickly and clearly.

Secondly, the “Caliph al-Mansur at Baghdad”, where the manuscript library was built, make me think about the obstacles faced by the mathematicians to the exchange of knowledge between many cultures or countries. During that time, there were no technology or instruments to gather information, and there were no means of transport to travel from one country to another. Whereas nowadays, new inventions or technology make life easier to gain knowledge or collect information. 

The discoveries about place value and the use of zero in the article reminds me of my research on the history of zero in my university course. It tells how a place holder becomes a zero in a number system. Each culture has its meaning of zero, such as in Arabic “sifr” means nothing, in Sanskrit “Shuunya” means empty or dot. 

This article makes me excited to learn and explore the history of mathematics and inventions.