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The world loves to attribute greatness to a long line of European mathematicians beginning with the Greeks/Romans without realizing that much of this 'history' was conjured up from thin air by the Church.
A thread based on #CKRaju's writing. https://twitter.com/CityLondonAlan/status/1164512320934076416
A thread based on #CKRaju's writing. https://twitter.com/CityLondonAlan/status/1164512320934076416
For some 1,500 years, Christian priests were the sole authors of Western history.
Their stated goal was and is not to accurately record historical events but to retain power and convert the world to Christianity using purported historical events.
Their stated goal was and is not to accurately record historical events but to retain power and convert the world to Christianity using purported historical events.
Two examples will help.
Eusebius is considered the first Church historian and the one who conjured up with the widely popular myth of Constantine's conversion to Christianity following the battle on Milivian Bridge.
Eusebius is considered the first Church historian and the one who conjured up with the widely popular myth of Constantine's conversion to Christianity following the battle on Milivian Bridge.
Eusebius claimed that during the battle with Maxentius, Constantine saw an apparition of a burning cross in the sky and promised Jesus that he would convert to Christianity if he emerges victorious, which he does and converts!
Sadly for Eusebius, the victory arch built by Constantine after defeating Maxentius bears no sign of Christian symbolism.
Worse, the arch glorifies the Roman God Apollo busting Eusebius' fertile imagination!
Worse, the arch glorifies the Roman God Apollo busting Eusebius' fertile imagination!
The second Church theologian 'cum historian' was Paulus Orosius whose most important work was titled 'History against the pagans'.
His work was a war propaganda concerned with glorifying Christianity and denigration of 'others'.This became the model for future Church historians.
His work was a war propaganda concerned with glorifying Christianity and denigration of 'others'.This became the model for future Church historians.
With the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, Constantinople (Istanbul) became a tributary of Baghdad, which invested heavily in knowledge, gathering it from all parts of the world, especially India and China.
The Baghdad Bayt-al-Hikma seeded a culture of books, and huge libraries+
The Baghdad Bayt-al-Hikma seeded a culture of books, and huge libraries+
sprouted across the Islamic world. Following their defeat in the Crusades, spies like Adelard of Bath reported that Christians' were deficient in knowledge compared to Muslims.
Hence, the church now sought scientific knowledge and an opportunity arose with the fall of Toledo.
Hence, the church now sought scientific knowledge and an opportunity arose with the fall of Toledo.
The Church abandoned its earlier policy of burning non-Christian books as heretical and now wanted to learn from the books of the religious enemy.
However, attributing sources to Muslims posed a religious issue now. Therefore, an excuse was invented to make the translations.
However, attributing sources to Muslims posed a religious issue now. Therefore, an excuse was invented to make the translations.
All secular knowledge in Arabic books was falsely claimed to be an exact replica of early Greek knowledge!
The common sense that no scientific knowledge would stay unchanged for over a 1000 years escaped them!
The common sense that no scientific knowledge would stay unchanged for over a 1000 years escaped them!
Greek was acceptable because Eusebius had declared the early Greeks as the (sole) “friends of Christians”.
Hence, attributing the source of translated knowledge to early Greeks resolved the attribution issue and instantly made the entire pagan knowledge a Christian inheritance!
Hence, attributing the source of translated knowledge to early Greeks resolved the attribution issue and instantly made the entire pagan knowledge a Christian inheritance!
Current 'evidence' for claims of Greek scientific achievements comes from several such stray remarks in discontinuous and late Byzantine Greek texts that were written over a thousand years after the purported 'achievement'.
Even those Byzantine Greek sources are now unavailable!
Even those Byzantine Greek sources are now unavailable!
Many of these Arabic books were translated into Byzantine Greek in Istanbul by Church translators who surreptitiously injected their chauvinism into the translated texts and attributed authorship to Greek names, real or imaginary.
This flimsy excuse of Greek origins enabled the mass translations of books in the Toledo library.
This art of translating books from #muslims and #pagan sources was perfected by the Church and later put to use by Jesuit priests in India to acquire knowledge of Calculus+
This art of translating books from #muslims and #pagan sources was perfected by the Church and later put to use by Jesuit priests in India to acquire knowledge of Calculus+
and astronomy from #Hindu scholars. You can check out this beautiful thread by @JoeAgneya to explore this. https://twitter.com/JoeAgneya/status/920990676401000449?s=20
People are unaware that unlike the Rhind papyrus, or Iraqi clay tablets, there are no original Greek sources for the purported achievements of Euclid, Archimedes, Claudius Ptolemy, etc. For example, Archimedes is a household name and considered a historical figure but
not many know that the earliest source for Archimedes is a Byzantine Greek text from the 9th century!
and even that is not currently available!
What we actually have is a 16th century latin text asserted to be its translation probably reflecting 16th century knowledge.
and even that is not currently available!
What we actually have is a 16th century latin text asserted to be its translation probably reflecting 16th century knowledge.
That is, all the evidence for Archimedes comes from a 16th century text in another language from another place, 1,800 years after the purported date of Archimedes! 
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The Greeks could not have done science as they lacked sophistication in math. The Greek/Roman system of numeration was so primitive they had no way to represent fractions.
Hence, there was no way Archimedes could have done anything on the sphere and cylinder (as Egyptians did).
Hence, there was no way Archimedes could have done anything on the sphere and cylinder (as Egyptians did).
This 'churchified' history of Greek origins was later systematically promoted by racist historians who portrayed the Greeks (even from Alexandria in Africa) as white.
Colonial historians further advanced it, linking the ‘Hellenic’ civilization to the West and helped the European powers consolidate colonial power. The thread is based on C K Raju's article on decolonizing math history. https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/columnists/debunking-myths-about-history.html
India urgently needs to set up a 'Commission for decolonization', not only of political but science and math history under subject specialists like #CKRaju.
Because... there cannot be true #swarajya without true knowledge. @AmitShah @DrRPNishank
https://twitter.com/Musashi_Nair/status/889812272603832320?s=20
Because... there cannot be true #swarajya without true knowledge. @AmitShah @DrRPNishank
https://twitter.com/Musashi_Nair/status/889812272603832320?s=20
Re upping a broken link above.
