Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya.Dick Teresi. Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. , 2002. Many ancient civilizations left behind surprising contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, cosmology, physics, geology, chemistry, and technology. Dick Teresi's book, Lost Discoveries, examines some of these diverse and little-known scientific and technological insights from the past. For example, in mathematics, the ancient Egyptians worked on the idea of the lowest common denominator low·est common denominator n. 1. See least common denominator. 2. a. The most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people. b. and formulated a fraction table that required 28,000 calculations to develop. The Babylonians devised the first written math and used a place-value number system. Ancient East Indians invented the numerals 0 through 9 and made important contributions to geometry and trigonometry trigonometry [Gr.,=measurement of triangles], a specialized area of geometry concerned with the properties of and relations among the parts of a triangle. Spherical trigonometry is concerned with the study of triangles on the surface of a sphere rather than in the . In the field of astronomy, the ancient Indians also correctly identified the relative distances of the known planets from the sun; the Chinese reported and recorded eclipses between 1400 and 1200 BCE BCE abbr. 1. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering 2. Bachelor of Civil Engineering BCE Abbreviation for before the Common Era. ; and the Arabs built the first observatories (most of the names of our stars and constellations are Arabic). Additionally, five thousand years ago, the Sumerians said the earth was round and a Hindu astronomer taught that the rising and setting of the sun were based on the earth's daily rotation on its axis. In the eleventh century, Avicenna of Persia asserted that outward qualities of metals were of little use in classification (he stressed internal structure--well before Mendeleyev's periodic table of elements) and in 1041, Pi Sheng sheng (Chinese; “sage” or “saint”) In Chinese belief, a mortal who attains extraordinary or supernatural powers by self-cultivation and serves as a model for others. Confucius used the term to refer to exemplary rulers of the past. invented movable type. In South America the Quechuan Indians of Peru were the first to vulcanize vul·ca·nize tr.v. vul·ca·nized, vul·ca·niz·ing, vul·ca·niz·es To improve the strength, resiliency, and freedom from stickiness and odor of (rubber, for example) by combining with sulfur or other additives in the presence of heat rubber and Andean farmers were the first to freeze-dry potatoes. And, in Kahmir, iron suspension bridges were being developed. Lost Discoveries shows that the Golden Age of Greece and modern science are significantly based on the historical achievements of non-Western civilization. This is a story of time-binding and cultural diversity at its best. EDITOR: MARTIN H. LEVINSON, PH.D. |
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