Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[coffeedecafe]

though there are many cases of wearing cloth in different forms and shapes on the head for religious reasons, in the desert areas it help a person to keep cool and not lose moisture through the hair.
in fact if you were reading a dicussion and people were getting upset with each other, you would be justified in writing to them to 'put a cloth on your head'. those who have read this would understand. [a new phrase is born...]
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coffeedecafe

[mkg1211]

i will add some useful information about arab and muslim scientists (old ones)
to show their role in making civilization

Khwarizmi, al- (c. 780-c. 850), Arab mathematician, born in Khwarizm (now Khiva, Uzbekistan). He was librarian at the court of Caliph al-Mamun and astronomer at the Baghdd observatory. His works on algebra, arithmetic, and astronomical tables greatly advanced mathematical thought, and he was the first to use for mathematical purposes the expression al jabr, from which the English word algebra is derived. The Latin version (by the Italian translator Gerard of Cremona) of al-Khwarizmi's treatise on algebra (based on a Hindu work) was responsible for much of the mathematical knowledge of medieval Europe. His work on algorithms, a term derived from his name, introduced the method of calculating by use of Arabic numerals and decimal notation.

[mkg1211]

Al-Battani, Abu-Abdullah Muhammad ibn Jabir (c. 858-929), leading Arab astronomer and mathematician of his time. Known also as Albategnius, his astronomical observations at Ar Raqqah, Syria, extended for a period of more than 40 years. He also made important contributions to pure mathematics. He introduced the use of sines in mathematical calculations, computed a table of cotangents, and formulated certain propositions in spherical trigonometry. His astronomical works, published as De Motu Stellarum (Concerning the Motion of the Stars, 1537), corrected errors of the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy in regard to the inclination of the ecliptic and the length of the year

[mkg1211]

Al-Biruni (973-c.1050), Arab scientist, who wrote on a wide variety of scientific subjects. His most important contributions as a scientist were his keen observations of natural phenomena, rather than theories. Sometimes called “the master”, he became one of the best-known Muslim scientists of his time.
Al-Biruni was born in what is now Uzbekistan. Al-Biruni's records show that he wrote 113 works, but most of them have been lost. The subjects he dealt with included astronomy, astrology, chronology, geography, mathematics, mechanics, medicine, pharmacology, meteorology, mineralogy, history, religion, philosophy, literature, and magic. One or more books on most of these subjects have survived. Al-Biruni's important works include Canon, his most comprehensive study of astronomy; Densities, which records the densities of various metals, liquids, and gems; Astrolabe, one of the most valuable descriptions of that instrument which contains more than 700 descriptions of drugs; and India, his best-known work, in which he used his knowledge of Sanskrit to describe Indian customs, languages, science, and geography

[mkg1211]

Idrisi, Al- (1100-c. 1165), Arab geographer, scientist, and author of one of the greatest geographical works of the medieval world. Widely travelled throughout the Mediterranean region, he joined the court of Roger II of Sicily in about 1145 and worked in Palermo the remainder of his life. His major works include a silver planisphere showing a world map, a sectional map of the world, and a geography text (the Book of Roger) that contains information from his own travels and reports from people sent from Sicily to obtain new information

[mkg1211]

Kindi, al-, (c. 801-c. 873), first major Islamic philosopher, born in Kufa and educated at Al Barah and Baghdd (all in Iraq). He was one of the earliest Muslim students of ancient Greek philosophers and one of the first translators of the works of Aristotle into Arabic. Called the philosopher of the Arabs because he was descended from Arab nobility, he is the author of more than 270 works, most of which are short tracts covering a wide range of topics, including philosophy, medicine, mathematics, optics, and astrology. Some of his works were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages and influenced Christian scholars in Europe

Al-Kindi's philosophy was strongly influenced by Neoplatonism and medieval Aristotelianism. He attempted to provide a philosophical basis for the speculative theology of the Mutazilis, later adopted by the Imams (Twlevers) of the Shiites. Although he claimed the essential conclusions of philosophy and religion to be harmonious, he nevertheless placed revelation above philosophy and prophetic insights above reason. Al-Kindi's influence on Muslim thinkers continued for about a century after his death

[mkg1211]

Al-Razi (Latin, Rhazes) (c. 854-c. 925), Muslim doctor and writer, whose medical writings greatly influenced the Islamic world as well as Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Razi, whose full name was Abu Bakr Muhammed ibn Zakariya al-Razi, was born and died in Rey (the ancient city of Rages), Persia, near Tehrn, in what is now Iran. He wrote on almost every aspect of medicine.
Among numerous medical works, Razi's most important was al-Hawi (The Comprehensive Book, or Liber continens, as it was known in medieval Europe), an enormous medical encyclopedia originally in 20 volumes, of which 10 have survived. It encompassed almost the whole of Greek, Syrian, and early Arabic medicine and included virtually every topic of medical importance. Razi's personal experiences and observations as a doctor make al-Hawi a landmark in the history of medicine. In his most famous work, Treatise on Smallpox and Measles, Razi gives the earliest known description of smallpox.
Razi also made important contributions to alchemy and philosophy, although most of these works are lost. In what was an unusual opinion for his time, he argued for the continuous progress of the sciences, and thus disagreed with the followers of Aristotle; he regarded himself a disciple of Plato. Also unusual was his acceptance of an atomic theory of matter

[mkg1211]

as for algebra
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an extract from encarta

The history of algebra began in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, where people learned to solve linear (ax = b) and quadratic (ax2 + bx = c) equations, as well as indeterminate equations such as x2 + y2 = z2, whereby several unknowns are involved. The ancient Babylonians solved arbitrary quadratic equations by essentially the same procedures taught today. They could also solve some indeterminate equations.
The Alexandrian mathematicians Hero of Alexandria and Diophantus continued the traditions of Egypt and Babylon, but Diophantus' book Arithmetica is on a much higher level and gives many surprising solutions to difficult indeterminate equations. This ancient knowledge of solutions of equations in turn found a home early in the Islamic world, where it was known as the “science of restoration and balancing”. (The Arabic word for restoration, al-jabru, is the root of the word “algebra”.) In the 9th century, the Arab mathematician al-Khwarizmi wrote one of the first Arabic algebras, a systematic expos� of the basic theory of equations, with both examples and proofs. By the end of the 9th century, the Egyptian mathematician Abu Kamil had stated and proved the basic laws and identities of algebra and solved such complicated problems as finding x, y, and z such that x + y + z = 10, x 2 + y2 = z2, and xz = y2.
Ancient civilizations wrote out algebraic expressions using only occasional abbreviations, but by medieval times Islamic mathematicians were able to talk about arbitrarily high powers of the unknown x, and, without yet using modern symbolism, work out the basic algebra of polynomials. This included the ability to multiply, divide, and find square roots of polynomials as well as a knowledge of the binomial theorem. The Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet Omar Khayyam showed how to express roots of cubic equations by means of line segments obtained by intersecting conic sections, but he could not find a formula for the roots. A Latin translation of Al-Khwarizmi's Algebra appeared in the 12th century. In the early 13th century, the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci achieved a close approximation to the solution of the cubic equation x3 + 2x2 + cx = d. Because Fibonacci had travelled in Islamic countries, he probably used an Arabic method of successive approximations

[mkg1211]

Alhazen (965-c.1040), Arab scientist and natural philosopher, who made important contributions in optics, astronomy, and mathematics. His Arab name is Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham. His major work, Optics, included valuable analyses and explanations of light and vision.
Alhazen was born in Al Barah, in what is now Iraq. He was invited to Cairo by the Muslim ruler al-Hakim. After failing in an attempt to regulate the flow of the Nile, Alhazen feared that al-Hakim would punish him. To avoid punishment, he pretended to be insane until al-Hakim's death. He devoted the rest of his life to scientific study.
Alhazen's most important and original contributions were in optics. He developed a broad theory that explained vision, using geometry and anatomy. According to this theory, each point on a lighted area or object radiates light rays in every direction, but only one ray from each point, which strikes the eye perpendicularly, can be seen. The other rays strike at different angles and are not seen.
In astronomy, Alhazen added to the theories of the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. He also summarized or explained some of the difficult mathematical theorems of the Greek mathematician Euclid

[mkg1211]

Avicenna (980-1037), known to the Muslim world as Ibn Sina, Iranian Islamic philosopher and physician, born near Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan). The son of a government official, Avicenna studied medicine and philosophy in Bukhara. At the age of 18 he was rewarded for his medical abilities with the post of court physician to the Samanid ruler of Bukhara. He remained in this position until the fall of the Samanid Empire in 999, and spent the last 14 years of his life as scientific adviser and physician to the ruler of Efahn.
Regarded by Muslims as one of the greatest Islamic philosophers, Avicenna is an important figure in the fields of medicine and philosophy. His work The Canon of Medicine was long pre-eminent in the Middle East and in Europe as a textbook. It is significant as a systematic classification and summary of medical and pharmaceutical knowledge up to and including Avicenna's time. The first Latin translation of the work was made in the 12th century, the Hebrew version appeared in 1491, and the Arabic text in 1593, only the second text ever printed in Arabic

[mkg1211]

Avicenna's best-known philosophical work is Kitab ash-Shifa (Arabic, “Book of Healing”), a collection of treatises on Aristotelian logic, metaphysics, psychology, the natural sciences, and other subjects. Avicenna's own philosophy was based on a combination of the philosophy of Aristotle and Neoplatonism. Like most medieval philosophers, Avicenna denied the immortality of the individual soul, God's interest in particulars, and the creation of the world in time—all of which were central to mainstream Islamic doctrine. Because of his views, Avicenna became the main target of an attack on such philosophy by mainstream Sunni theologians such as al-Ghazali. Nevertheless, Avicenna's philosophy remained influential throughout the Middle Ages

[mkg1211]

Farabi, al- (c. 873-950), also known as Alfarabius, the first-known philosopher in the Islamic world to uphold the primacy of philosophical truth over revelation, claiming that, contrary to the beliefs of various other religions, philosophical truths are the same throughout the world. He was born in Farab, Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan), of Turkish parentage. He studied first in Khorasan (in Iran) and then in Baghdd, where his teachers were Syriac Christians well acquainted with Greek philosophy. He eventually came to the court of Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler of Aleppo in Syria. Al-Farabi was one of the earliest Islamic thinkers to transmit to the Arab world the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle (which he considered essentially identical), thereby greatly influencing such later Islamic philosophers as Avicenna and Averro�s.
Influenced in his metaphysical views by the Neoplatonism of Plotinus, Al-Farabi posited a Supreme Being who had created the world through the exercise of rational intelligence. He believed this same rational faculty to be the sole part of the human being that is immortal, and thus he set as the paramount human goal the development of that rational faculty. Al-Farabi gave considerably more attention to political theory than did any other Islamic philosopher, adapting the Platonic system (as developed in Plato's Republic and Laws) to the contemporary Muslim political situation in The Perfect City.
Alfarabius formulated as an ideal a universal religion of which all other existing religions are considered symbolic expressions. Of his 100 or so works, many have been lost, including his commentaries on Aristotle. Many others have been preserved only in medieval Latin translation. In addition to his philosophical writings, he compiled a catalogue of the sciences, the first Muslim work to attempt a systematization of human knowledge. He also made a contribution to musical theory in his “great book of music

[coffeedecafe]

lots of research there,mkg. i won't dispute any of it. as far as the question of the beginning of the arab culture, i believe that is historically thought to be when ishmael, child of abraham, was married to an egyptian wife. i do not know exactly where in the lines of the pharoahs that would have occured, but i believe he had 12 sons.
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coffeedecafe

[Rebeccalou]

It was the Arabian rugs that attracted me to the mystrious Arabian culture.
Then i read the famous 'Arabian Nights',and deeply absorbed by its exotic culture. But i think i just know little about the Arabian culture. So would you introduct some knowledge for me ?

[asterix]

Sure the Arabs were great once. But what have they done lately?
Nothing! Their 15 minutes of fame is over.