The Roots of the Scientific Revolution 39
Many of the Hindu techniques for complicated calculations like
square and cube rooting that were developed using the place number
system were transmitted to Europe by the Arab mathematician, al-
Khwarizmi, from whose name is derived the term algorithm, meaning a
procedure for performing a mathematical calculation. The scientific
revolution of the Renaissance could never have taken place if these
simpler modes of calculation had not been made possible by the Hindu
place number system.
The scientific revolution also benefited from the Hindu development
of algebra. The Hindus’ successes in developing algebra, like their
success with zero, stemmed from their ability to work intuitively without
being unnecessarily held back by the need for logical rigor. The essential
element in their development of algebra was their invention of zero,
which proved to be a powerful mathematical concept.
Islamic Medieval Science
After the fall of Rome learning in Europe with the exception of theology
went into a decline. However, in the Islamic world in which Arabic was
the lingua franca a very vital level of scientific activity took place
between the 7th and 16th centuries. “The only effective link between the
old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as
an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a
thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia
(Lodge 2003).”
Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid dynasty from 750 to 1258,
became a center of learning. The philosophical and scientific works of
the Hellenistic world were translated and introduced to the Muslims.
This stimulated new and original research and study in which the
Arabs made significant and lasting contributions (ibid., p. 65). Baghdad
became, as an Arab historian described it, “the market to which the wares
of the sciences and arts were brought, where wisdom was sought as a
man seeks after his stray camel, and whose judgment of values was
accepted by the whole world” (Gibb 1963, p. 46). Baghdad soon
possessed a library and an academy that in many ways rivaled the
original library at Alexandria (Hitti 1964, p. 117).
One of the factors that contributed to the intense literary activity in
the Arab world was the sudden availability of paper in the mid-eighth
century, replacing the more expensive media of parchment, papyrus, and