Saturday, July 18, 2015
Fair question
Headline: What happened to science in Islam?
It's a fair question, and part of the problem is real. From 800 to 1100 AD, Islam led the way in science. Since then, most scientific activity has been in Europe and China and US.
But both of the authors who asked the question are missing a definitional point.
The earlier Islamic golden age was focused on practical subjects. Engineering, medicine, agriculture, geography, chemistry. EXPERIMENTAL science that actually helped merchants, manufacturers and ordinary people. Muslims are still highly active in those areas, though admittedly less active than you'd expect by simple proportion. Look at any engineering journal, mechanical or electrical or hydraulic, and you'll see a whole lot of Abduls and Rezas among the authors.
The golden age ended when we bombed Muslim countries down to bedrock the first time in 1200.
Since 1890, Euro and Chinese science has moved away from practicality and toward outright schizophrenia. Quantum nonsense, multiverses, string theory, "global warming", economics. Since 1960, Nobel prizes are mainly given for lunacy.
Muslims haven't joined the insanity. They continue working in practical areas that will help commerce and help ordinary people, which is exactly what the Koran recommends.
And, of course, several Muslim countries that had previously contributed heavily to engineering are now war zones. USA STRONG, acting as Israel's reliable agent, has been bombing Muslim countries down to bedrock again. When you're dead or starving you aren't going to be writing many journal articles.
Labels: Natural law = Sharia law, STRONG!
¶ 5:48 AM
