01-15-2006, 03:35 AM
http://www.friesian.com/century.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The number zero, conceived in India, was introduced into Western mathematics by the mathematician al-Khuwârizmî (c.780-850). The Arabs still call this system "Indian" (Hindî) numbers, while Europeans, etc., call it "Arabic" numerals. The number zero answers the question of cardinal numbers, "How many?" rather than the question of ordinal numbers, "Which one?" Mathematical questions are usually about cardinals rather than ordinals.
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http://www.friesian.com/hist-1.htm#islam
Nearly the entire corpus of Plato and Aristotle and of the physicians Hippocrates and Galen was translated by a single Christian Arab, H.unayn ibn Ish.âq (or Johannitius in Latin, d.876). Much original work that was then done in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine is still commemorated in words from Arabic like algebra, zenith, azimuth, or alcohol. The word algorithm, describing what a computer program does, is actually the name of al-Khuwârizmî (c.780-850), whose books introduced algebra and also passed on from India the method of decimal counting with the number zero. What we call Arabic numerals are still called "Indian" (Hindî) numerals in Arabic. Most of the named stars in the sky still have Arabic names, e.g. Betelgeuse, from Baytuljawzâ', "the house of the Twins [Gemini]."
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The number zero, conceived in India, was introduced into Western mathematics by the mathematician al-Khuwârizmî (c.780-850). The Arabs still call this system "Indian" (Hindî) numbers, while Europeans, etc., call it "Arabic" numerals. The number zero answers the question of cardinal numbers, "How many?" rather than the question of ordinal numbers, "Which one?" Mathematical questions are usually about cardinals rather than ordinals.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.friesian.com/hist-1.htm#islam
Nearly the entire corpus of Plato and Aristotle and of the physicians Hippocrates and Galen was translated by a single Christian Arab, H.unayn ibn Ish.âq (or Johannitius in Latin, d.876). Much original work that was then done in astronomy, mathematics, and medicine is still commemorated in words from Arabic like algebra, zenith, azimuth, or alcohol. The word algorithm, describing what a computer program does, is actually the name of al-Khuwârizmî (c.780-850), whose books introduced algebra and also passed on from India the method of decimal counting with the number zero. What we call Arabic numerals are still called "Indian" (Hindî) numerals in Arabic. Most of the named stars in the sky still have Arabic names, e.g. Betelgeuse, from Baytuljawzâ', "the house of the Twins [Gemini]."