[ExI] Eurocentric Bias in Human Achievement

[Henrique Moraes Machado (CI)]

HeMM>> The 'arabic' numerals are in fact Indian numerals.

Lee> Yes, I should perhaps have read your email before posting.

But your answer was more comprehensive than mine.

Lee> And MOST IMPORTANTLY, we must not allow their relative
> lack of contributions to mathematics to cast a shadow on their
> achievements in medicine, physics, and astronomy, which were
> much more significant, (just think of how many stars have Arabic
> names) even if those achievements still pale in comparison to
> Europe's.
> The key, of course, is the extraordinary and peculiar transition
> that happened during 1100-1500 A.D. to a small penisula on the
> western tip of the Eurasian land mass, for reasons still obscure.


Well, the arabs ended up turning to blinding religion fanaticism, instead.

The chinese could have conquered the world (see Zheng He and  treasure ship 
fleets) but they decided to shut down and turn their back to the outside 
world.

In both ways they became sort of stagnant, while europeans didn't.

I like to agree with James Burke on this. What made european civilisation 
dominate the world was the way it constantly changes and reinvents (see the 
excellent documentary "The Day The Universe Changed"). In history, any 
civilisation that stopped either died or was conquered by another.