
Indian mathematicians discovered infinite series in 1350 - pg
http://www.physorg.com/news106238636.html
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ivankirigin
I suppose this is the first real post of Hacker News?

Whenever I study the history of science, I'm always left with a longing for a
time machine. Alt-history is fascinating: what level of technology could
humanity have achieved today if certain intellectual disasters could be
avoided?

A humble request of a time traveler would be to ensure a continuous line of
knowledge. Forgotten and rediscovered knowledge are such forces of friction
and backsliding. Better communication over larger geographical areas would
certainly have helped. It would be like a distributed backup system.

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codeLullaby
I live in Kerala .A word about present academic situation here:

The good old days are far gone . Quality of education is going downhill,as
very few practitioners teach the subjects in colleges.Locally, teaching as a
profession is considered as a low grade one , compared to engineering and
medical professions by majority.This low social status coupled with poor pay
has resulted in a situation,where teaching as a profession has become the last
of all choices.

A system that do not appreciate innovation is in place, and is oriented ONLY
towards getting high academic scores. This is sad. I wish things got better.

[I haven't studied anywhere outside Kerala, so i don't know about the
situation elsewhere in India.Please don't conclude this as the situation in
India, in general]

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eposts
This is really interesting news. It is sad in a way that so much of the
previous efforts have been wasted due to differences in cultures, invasion,
wars, disease etc. Imagine Newton studying this math when he was a kid... he
would be working on other problems and everyone would be better off. Just
amazes how much the ancient civilizations achieved with the resources they had
and makes me appreciate them more.

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byrneseyeview
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computing_2400_BC-1...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computing_2400_BC-1949)

This is surprising. Indian mathematicians invented the 0, binary, formal
language specs, logarithms... I wonder what changed.

~~~
eposts
If you mean what changed in recent times - imperial rule. It has been only 60
years since India has been independent.

~~~
byrneseyeview
This was a negative?

India was made up of numerous warring states, until one massive war that
turned them into a possession of Britain. I'm not aware of how their economic
situation changed after that, but if Africa is any indicator...
[http://unqualified-
reservations.blogspot.com/2007/08/country...](http://unqualified-
reservations.blogspot.com/2007/08/country-that-used-to-exist.html)

~~~
eposts
I am not sure if it was all negative... I am sure the British brought good
things to India. I do believe a century long British rule changed the focus
and stifled innovation and free thought. How would it have gone had the
British never ruled... hard to tell.

~~~
juwo
The British came centuries later in 1600. They unified the country, brought a
common language, railways, administration etc.

Many people say that far greater damage was wrought by the many Muslim
emperors and invasions.

By the time the British came, Indian Science was over.

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whacked_new
Wrong/disputed attributions are everywhere. Just a part of history. Human
history, because humans care about the attributions.

And Edison invented the lightbulb, Gutenberg the printing press, etc. etc.
Sigh for a second. Now go make something.

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pixcavator
It is well known that all scientific knowledge was given to us by aliens.

~~~
ajju
yes but remember, most Indians are LEGAL Aliens ;)

