We tend to think of the Greeks as founders of the principle of mathematics, but they took some of their best ideas from the work and influence of people living a little bit further to the East. Arabic and Islamic mathematicians have given us some of the most advanced mathematical thinking. Trigonometry, negative numbers and algebra were all developed first and foremost in places like Babylon and Indian Societies. This, combined with the Greek’s command of Geometry, set up the world of modern maths and how we apply it today. All our working lives are dominated by it, especially those working in maths and finance. It would make the work of Bookkeepers Hereford https://office-support.co.uk/bookkeeping/ impossible. Here are some famous practitioners of science.
- Al Kindi. He was a philosopher first but had an aptitude for numbers as well. He takes the Indian concept of indicative figures and converts them for use in the Arab world. This influenced the Greeks and entered Europe.
- Abu Kamil Shuja’ ibn Aslam. If you’ve ever stared at a maths problem involving x equalling something, then Abu Kamil Shuja’ ibn Aslam is the man to thank. He is the father of Algebra. He starts to use irrational numbers and negatives to get an answer. He also worked on multiplication and showed that maths underpins everything.
- Al-Battani . Whilst Geminus the Greek could show that the Earth went around the Sun and other planets, Al-Battani was the first to accurately calculate that the whole year was 365 days long.
